IMAGE  EVALUATION 
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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  Institut  Canadian  da  microraproductions  historiques 

1980 


Technical  Notes  /  Notes  techniques 


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L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Certains 
d^fauts  suscepdbles  de  nuire  d  la  quality  de  la 
reproduction  sont  notis  ci-dessous. 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couvertures  de  couleur 


D 


Coloured  pages/ 
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D 


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Reliure  serr6  (peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou 
de  la  distortion  le  long  de  la  marge 
int6rieure) 


D 


Pages  damaged/ 
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Des  planches  manquent 


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The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
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Les  images  suivantes  ont  «t«  reproduites  avec  le 
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de  la  nettet«  de  I'exemplaire  film«,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche  shall 
contain  the  symbol  —^  (meaning  CONTINUED"), 
or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"),  whichever 
applies. 

The  original  copy  was  borrowed  from,  and 
filmed  with,  the  kind  consent  of  the  following 
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Library, 

Geological  Survey  of  Canada 

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in  one  exposure  are  filmed  beginning  in  the 
upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to  right  and  top  to 
bottom,  as  many  frames  as  required.  The 
following  diagrams  illustrate  the  method: 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaTtra  sur  la  der- 
ni*re  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le  cas- 
le  symbols  -•►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le  symbols 
V  signifie  "FIN". 

L'exemplaire  film6  fut  reproduit  grdce  d  la 
g6n«rosit6  de  l'6tablissement  prdteur 
suivant  : 

Bibliothdque, 

Commission  Gfologique  du  Canada 

Les  cartes  ou  les  planches  trop  grandes  pour  dtre 
reproduites  en  un  seul  clich6  sont  filmies  d 
partir  de  I'angle  supdrieure  gauche,  de  gauche  d 
droite  et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  n^cessaire.  Le  diagramme  suivant 
illustre  la  mdthode  : 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

8 

6 

/ 


"bi>aS2 


V*; 


KLONDIKE 


A    MANUAL    FOR    GOLDSEEKERS 


BY 


CHARLES  A.   BRAMBLE,  D.L.S. 

E^ditorial    Staff   Engineering    and    Mining   Journal,   late 
Crown  Lands  Surveyor,  Dominion  of  Canada 


NFAV  YORK 
R.  F,   FENNO  &  COMPANY 

9  and  ii   EAST  i6th  STREET 


THOMSON  STATIONERY  Co..  lUi., 

800>*S£l  i-ERS, 
NFWSDeAt.El»n    »*^D     PRIKiTER^, 


Copyright,  1S97 


BY 


R.  F.  FBNNO  &  COMPANY 


mondike;  A  Manual  for  Goldseekers 


CONTENTS. 


PAQE 

A  WOI  D  TO  THE  _»,is;ADER 8 

Introduction 5 

The  Country 11 

The  Klondike  Trail 67 

Life  at  the  Diggings 130 

The  Gold  155 

Mining  Methods 195 

Prospecting 223 

The  Climate 232 

The  Outfit , 251 

The  Mounted  Police 282 

Canadian  Mining  Laws 290 

Customs,  Regulations,  etc 804 

Diseases  of  the  Country 306 

Miscellaneous 311 


'ilOO 


■%.V""V 


ii>*" 


A   WORD  TO  THE  READER. 

Just  now  all  eyes  are  turned  toward  the  gold- 
en valley  of  the  Yukon.  No  possible  doubt  ex- 
ists that  one  of  the  richest,  if  not  absolutely  the 
richest,  placer  deposits  ever  discovered  has  been 
found  within  the  past  year  in  far-away  Alaska. 

At  the  present  moment,  therefore,  such  a  book 
as  this  is  wanted,  especially  as  a  flood  of  cheap, 
unreliable  "Yukon*'  literature  has  been  put 
upon  the  market.  My  experiencco  in  the  North- 
west Territories  and  Canada  have  enabled  me  to 
select  only  what  is  valuable  from  amid  the  vast 
quantities  of  matter  already  published.  My 
knowledge  of  mining  and  of  the  Northwest  has 
been  fully  as  much  exercised  in  eliminating  false 
statements  as  in  accumulating  paragraphs  of 
worth. 

I  claim  little  as  original  in  this  book,  but  I  ex- 
pect it  nevertheless  to  be  of  very  great  value  to 
any  prospective  gold  seeker  who  shall  aim  at  ac- 
quiring some  of  the  virgin  gold  of  the  North. 

Chas.  a.  Bramble, 
D.  L.  S. 


m 


INTRODUCTION. 


A  CLEVER  California  writer  has  said  no  one 
should  venture  to  set  out  for  the  Alaska  diggings 
without  a  good  pardner.  The  word  must  not  be 
confounded  with  partner.  Partner  has  a  smart, 
business-like  sound.  It  is  precisely  defined  by 
law,  and  though  it  may  by  courtesy  involve  some- 
thing of  special  favor,  its  equities  at  last  rest 
upon  the  decisions  of  courts  without  regard  to 
sentiment.  But  a  pardner  glories  in  sentiment. 
He  expects  to  give  his  mate  all  that  the  law  re- 
quires and  call  that  only  a  beginning.  Men  may 
be  chums  in  easy,  prosperous  times,  but  it  is  not 
until  they  pass  together  through  a  succession  of 
dangers  and  hardships  that  they  become  pardners. 
Congeniality  and  implicit  confidence  are  at  the 
base  of  a  pardnership;  and  for  better  or  for  worse 
the  two  men  stand  as  one  under  all  vicissitudes, 
doubling  each  other's  joys  and  dividing  sorrows 
and  failures.  If  one  falls  by  the  way  the  other 
gives  him  more  than  the  devotion  of  a  brother. 

Gold  mining  eventually  is  a  business  conducted 
by  large  capital,  but  placer  diggings  afford  an 
opening  to  any  one  who  can  stake  and  work  a 


6 


Introduction. 


claim.  The  two  pardners  begin  operations  on 
the  ground-floor,  share  their  discoveries,  tent  to- 
gether, and  cook  fo^-  each  otlier.  Their  qualities 
and  traits  are  complementary.  Pardners  are 
closer  than  mess-mates  in  the  arm}'  or  navy. 
The  soldier  or  sailor  is  under  the  care  of  a  boun- 
tiful provider.  His  food,  clothes  and  shelter  are 
furnished  by  the  government,  and  his  comings 
and  goings  are  regulated  by  orders.  Pardners, 
on  the  other  hand,  must  skirmish  together  from 
the  start  for  subsistence  and  plans  of  operation. 
They  fight  the  battle  of  life  for  two  under  haz- 
ardous conditions,  far  from  families  and  friends, 
satisfied  for  the  time  being  with  bare  necessi- 
ties. Under  such  a  test  pardners  are  forged  as 
steel  is  forged.  It  is  not  likely  that  the  mining 
camps  in  Alaska  will  permit  any  one  to  starve, 
but  they  have  a  regulation  for  shipping  those 
lacking  means  or  resources  out  of  the  country. 
In  a  community  of  pardners  a  high  sense  of  gen- 
eral humanity  will  prevail,  but  there  must  be 
prudence  as  to  feeding  drones  during  the  long 
season  when  the  lines  of  supply  are  interrupted. 
Alaska  will  furnish  a  great  growth  of  friendship, 
with  the  pardner  as  its  top  flower.  No  man  can 
utterly  fall  there  who  has  a  good  pardner,  and  is 
one. 

The  following  condensed  Alaskan  "nuggets" 
have  been  culled  from  various  sources: 


Introduction. 


The  first  discovery  of  gold  on  the  Klondike 
was  made  in  the  middle  of  August,  1896,  by 
George  Oormack. 

The  only  way  heretofore  into  and  out  of  the 
Klondike  in  winter  has  been  by  way  of  Juneau. 

The  best  way  to  live  is  •  >  litate  the  Indians 
in  dress  and  habit.  It  is  i;  8s  to  wear  leather 
or  gum  boots.  Good  mocca,..n8  are  absolutely 
necessary. 

The  colder  it  is  the  better  the  traveling. 
When  it  is  very  cold  there  is  no  wind;  and  the 
wind  is  hard  to  bear. 

Indian  guides  are  necessary  to  go  ahead  of  the 
dogs  and  prepare  the  camp  for  night.  In  the 
summer  the  sun  rises  early  and  sets  late  and 
there  are  only  a  few  hours  when  it  is  not  shining 
directly  on  Alaska.  In  the  winter  the  sun  shines 
for  a  short  time  only  each  day. 

It  is  2,500  miles  from  San  Francisco  to  St.  Mi- 
chael's. It  is  1,895  miles  from  St.  Michaers  to 
Dawson  City. 

In  summer  the  weather  is  warm  and  tent  life 
is  comfortable.  The  winter  lasts  nine  months. 
There  are  two  routes  by  which  to  reach  Dawson 
City.  One  touching  St.  MichaeFs  Island  and 
the  other  via  Juneau.  By  steamer  it  costs  1150 
to  go  from  San  Francisco  to  Dawson  City. 

Dogs  are  worth  their  weight  in  gold.  A  good 
long-haired  dog  sells  for  $150  or  $200. 

The  Yukon  River  is  closed  by  ice  from  Novem- 
bt  to  the  latter  part  of  May.  On  the  Klondike 
the  thermometer  goes  as  low  as  60  degrees  below 
zero. 

There  is  a  great  variety  of  berries  to  be 
found  all  through  the  country  in  summer.     Game 


8 


Introduction. 


ii  i 


1!  i 


Hi 


is  very  scarce  near  the  mines.  Vegetables  of  the 
hardier  sort  can  be  raised.  Stock  can  be  kept  by 
using  care  in  providing  abundantly  with  feed  by 
ensilage  or  curing  natural-grass  hay  and  by 
housing  them  in  the  winter.  In  summer  abun- 
dance of  fine  grass  can  be  found  near  the  rivers. 

In  appearance  the  natives  are  like  the  North 
American  Indians,  only  more  lithe  and  active, 
with  very  small  feet  and  hands.  They  live  in 
temporary  camps  both  winter  and  summer,  either 
in  the  mountains  or  on  the  river  banks,  accord- 
ing to  the  habits  of  the  game  they  are  hunting. 

Gold  was  first  discovered  in  the  vicinity  of 
Sitka  by  Frank  Mahoney,  Edward  Doyle  and 
William  Dunlay,  in  1879. 

As  regards  the  strictly  American  possessions 
the  following  are  worth  remembering: 

Purchased  in  1867  from  Russia,  for  $7,200,000; 
purchase  negotiated  by  William  H.  Seward. 
Area  in  square  miles,  531,409. 

Population,  census  of  1890,  30,329,  of  whom 
but  4,416  were  whites,  8,400  Esquimaux,  and 
13,735  Indians.  Estimated  present  population 
40,000. 

IT  ncipal  cities,  Sitka,  the  capital,  Juneau, 
Wrangel,  Circle  City.  Principal  rivers,  the 
Yukon,  more  than  2,000  miles  long;  the  Kuskok- 
wim,  the  Colville  and  the  Copper.  Principal 
mountains.  Mount  Logan,  altitude,  19,500  feet; 
Mount  St.  Elias,  18,100;  Mount  Wrangel,  17,500 
feet. 

Principal  occupations  of  the  people,  hunting 
and  fishing. 

Gold  first  discovered  in  1879.  Estimated  prod- 
uct of  gold  to  date,  $30,000,000.  Product  of 
gold  in  1896,  $4,670,000, 


Introduction. 


9 


Klondike  in  English  is  Fish  River.  Klondike 
go  d  fie  ds  are  in  British  territory,  aid  iCmol 
net  18  disposed  of  in  the  United  States.        ^ 

Ihe  scene  of  the  present  excitement  is  alone 
the  upper  Yukon  and  its  tributaries.  ^ 

dike  from  Seattle  by  water,  and  thirty  or  fortv 
days  by  the  Chilkoot  Pass  route.  ^  ^ 


KLON^DIKE. 


THE   COUNTRY. 


Alaska's  chief  river,  the  Yukon,  is  one  of 
the  grandest  streams  on  the  continent,  and  m 
size  is  surpassed  only  by  the  Mississippi,  if,  in- 
deed, it  is  not  the  larger — at  least,  in  point  of 
volume.  At  the  old  Hudson  Bay  post,  Fort 
Yukon,  now  abandoned,  the  river  attains  its 
northermost  latitude,  being  just  within  the 
Arctic  circle. 

At  a  point  just  above  Fort  Yukon  the  river  has 
been  found  to  have  a  width  of  seven  miles.  Just 
above  Fort  Yukon  the  channel  of  the  river  is 
subject  to  frequent  changes  by  reason  of  shifting 
sand,  but  this  offers  the  only  considerable  obstacle 
to  navigation  from  the  mouth  of  the  Yukon  to 
Fort  Selkirk,  a  distance  of  1,600  miles. 

Such  is  the  volume  of  water  discharged  by  this 
mighty  stream  that  it  is  said  that  fresh  water  is 
found  in  the  ocean  ten  miles  out  from  the  chief 
mouth  of  the  river.  The  entire  length  of  the 
river  is  estimated  at  not  less  than  2,000  miles,  and 
the  probability  is  that  it  is  much  greater. 


12 


Klondike. 


In 


W 


Those  who  have  traveled  some  of  the  navigable 
portion  of  the  river  describe  the  Yukon  Valley  as 
most  beautiful  in  scenery,  fully  equaling,  even 
exceeding,  anything  offered  by  natural  scenery  in 
the  United  States.  The  boundary  of  the  upper 
part  of  Alaska  Territory  between  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  from  Mount  St.  Elias  to  the 
Arctic  Ocean,  is  very  clearly  defined  in  the  treaty 
as  the  141st  meridian.  The  only  difficulty  about 
this  part  of  the  line  is  in  locating  that  meridian. 
There  is  some  slight  difference  between  the 
American  and  Canadian  surveys,  but  that  differ- 
ence can  be  easily  settled. 

It  has  been  stated  by  Canadian  newspapers  to 
involve  a  strip  not  more  than  sixty  feet  wide  at 
the  point  where  the  line  crosses  the  Yukon. 
Some  question  has  arisen  from  the  fact  that  in 
the  treaty  the  meridian  was  described  as  crossing 
Mount  St.  Elias,  whf  r^^  ts  it  has  since  been  found 
to  be  a  little  east  of  M  ut  peak. 

The  treaty  between  Great  Britain  and  Russia 
made  in  1825  provided  that  the  line  should  start 
from  the  southernmost  point  of  Prince  of  Wales 
Island  and  ascend  to  the  north  along  Portland 
Channel,  as  far  as  the  56th  degree  of  north  lati- 
tude; thence  should  follow  the  summit  of  the 
mountains  parallel  to  the  coast  as  far  as  the  point 
of  intersection  with  the  lilst  degree  of  west 
longitude.     "Wherever  the  summit  of  the  moun- 


ii! 


"ill  • 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.  13 

tains  parallel  to  the  coast  proves  to  be  more  than 
ten  marine  leagues  from  the  ocean,  the  boundary 
line  is  to  parallel  the  windings  of  the  coast  not 
more  than  ten  marine  leagues  therefrom. 

But  a  very  limited  section  of  this  vast  area, 
which  was  purchased  by  the  United  States  from 
Russia  in  1867  for  17,300,000,  is  known  to  civi- 
lized man.  The  far  greater  portion  is  as  yet  un 
explored.  The  territory,  according  to  the  latest 
figures,  coriprises  580,107  square  miles.  The 
mere  figures  convey  but  a  faint  conception  of  its 
extent.  The  Territory  of  Alaska  has  an  area 
very  nearly  equal  to  the  combined  areas  of  Con- 
necticut, Delaware,  District  cf  Columbia,  Flor- 
ida, Georgia,  Maine,  Maryland,  Massachussetts, 
Mississippi,  New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  New 
York,  North  Carolina,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania, 
South  Carolina,  Tennessee,  Vermont,  Virginia, 
and  West  Virginia;  it  nearly  approximates  one- 
fifth  of  the  area  of  all  the  rest  of  the  United 
States.  Alaska's  coast  line  on  the  mainland  is 
about  7,860  miles,  or  greater  than  the  eastern 
coast  line  of  the  United  States.  The  coast  line 
of  the  mainland  and  islands  is  nearly  four  times 
as  great  as  all  the  other  coast  lines  of  the  United 
States  combined. 

Dr.  Dawson,  who  made  geological  explorations 
in  the  upper  Yukon  region,  testified  as  follows: 
"With  regard  to  the  gold  on  the  Liard  River, 


14 


Klondike. 


HI! 


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which  is  a  tributary  of  the  Mackenzie,  I  may 
state  further  that  remunerative  bars  have  been 
worked  east  of  the  country  down  toward  the 
Mackenzie.  The  whole  appearance  of  this  coun- 
try leads  to  the  belief  that  important  mineral 
deposits  will  be  found  in  it  besides  those  placer 
mines.  There  are  large  quantities  of  quartz 
ledges  along  the  rivers  in  many  places  on  the 
Liard  River;  half  the  river  gravel  is  composed  of 
quartz,  and  the  whole  country  is  full  of  quartz 
veins,  some  of  which  are  likely  to  yield  valuable 
minerals." 

Q.     Is  it  a  gold-bearing  quartz? 

A.  Yes;  because  we  find  gold  in  the  bars, 
though  not,  so  far  as  I  have  discovered,  in  the 
loose  quartz.  In  fact,  the  whole  country  at  the 
headwaters  of  the  Liard,  and  running  across  to 
the  Yukon,  forms  part  of  the  metalliferous  belt 
which  runs  from  Mexico  to  Alaska  and  includes 
a  great  area  of  that  country  which  is  as  likely  to 
be  rich  in  minerals  as  any  portion  of  that  metal- 
liferous belt.  We  should  remember  that  in  Brit- 
ish Columbia  and  on  the  headwaters  of  the 
Yukon  we  have  from  1,200  to  1,300  miles  of  that 
metalliferous  belt  of  the  west  coast.  This  is  al- 
most precisely  the  same  length  of  that  belt  con- 
tained in  the  United  States,  and  I  think  there 
is  every  reason  to  believe  that  eventually  it  will 
be  found  susceptible  of  an  equal  development 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


15 


from  a  mining  point  of  view.  From  circum- 
stances to  wliich  I  need  not  now  refer,  it  has  so 
far  been  more  developed  in  the  United  States 
than  on  this  side  of  the  line. 

Q.  What  is  the  average  width  of  that  belt  of 
1,200  or  1,300  miles? 

A.  About  400  miles  on  the  average.  Fort 
Selkirk,  or  the  ruins  of  Fort  Selkirk,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Lewis  River,  which  is  one  of  the 
main  branches  of  the  Yukon,  is  about  1,000  miles 
due  north  of  Victoria,  without  taking  into  ac- 
count ten  degrees  of  longitude  which  it  is  west, 
but  it  gives  an  idea  of  the  depth  of  the  country 
which  is  worth  remarking.  You  find  a  country 
here  1,000  miles  north  of  Victoria  in  which  there 
is  no  doubt  you  can  still  grow  barley  and  hardy 
cereals,  a  distance  as  nearly  as  possible  identical 
with  the  whole  width  of  the  United  States  on  the 
Pacific  coast  from  the  49th  parallel  to  Mexico, 
yet  at  Fort  Selkirk  we  are  still  750  or  800  miles 
from  the  Arctic  Ocean— nearly  twice  as  far  from 
the  Arctic  Ocean  as  we  are  here  in  Ottawa  from 
the  Atlantic. 

Q.  That  would  make  a  square  area  of  520,000 
miles.  Is  that  what  the  committee  are  to  under- 
stand? 

A.  That  will  express  the  area  of  the  metaVif- 
erous  belt  in  a  general  way,  and  may  be  taken  as 
a  minimum  figure.    This  Yukon  country  was  first 


16 


Klondike. 


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•  i     1' 

'  i     ^ 


prospected  in  1880,  by  miners  who  came  across 
by  this  Chilkoot  Pass.  Since  then  a  yearly  in- 
creasing number  of  miners  has  been  going  in. 
This  last  summer  there  were  about  250  men, 
nearly  100  of  whom  are  wintering  at  Forty-Mile 
Creek,  near  the  international  boundary.  The  gold 
which  was  taken  out  of  that  country  last  summer, 
not  counting  the  Ci  ssiar  country  to  the  south, 
but  merely  the  Yukon  district,  was  estimated  by 
the  miners  at  $70,000,  but  that  is  a  very  rough 
estimate  indeeu,  because  there  is  no  way  of 
checking  it  except  by  allowing  so  much  per  man 
on  the  average.  There  is  an  almost  unprece- 
dented length  of  river  bars  from  which  gold  is  ob- 
tained in  that  country.  I  have  not  tried  to  esti- 
mate it,  but  here  and  there  on  nearly  all  those 
rivers  gold  is  found  in  paying  quantities.  The 
gold-bearing  river  bars  must  be  reckoned  in  the 
aggregate  by  thousands  of  miles  in  length. 

Q.  All  those  rivers,  meaning  the  Yukon  and 
its  branches,  and  the  Liard  and  its  branches? 

A.    Yes. 

Though  the  Coppermine  River  lies  east  of 
the  Mackenzie  and  far  from  the  Yukon,  it  may 
be  interesting  to  give  here  the  testimony  of  Dr. 
Dawson  in  regard  to  copper  in  that  river.  He 
said,  speaking  of  the  Coppermine  River  particu- 
larly, that  "there  is  every  reason  to  believe  there 
is  a  repetition  along  that  river  and  in  its  vicinity 


I 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers 


17 


of  tiiose  rocks  which  contain  copper  on  Lake 
Superior,  and  which  have  proved  so  rich  there." 
But  that  region  seems  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of 
the  prospector  at  present. 

"I  see  a  good  many  newspaper  criticisms  in 
which  the  prophecy  is  ventured  that  not  more 
than  one-tenth  of  tne  parties  going  to  Alaska 
'will  come  back  prosperous,'  "  said  one  returned 
Yukoner.  ''This  is  a  mistake.  There  is  no  ques- 
tion of  their  finding  gold  in  any  part  of  the 
Yukon  Valley,  the  only  question  being  whether 
they  can  find  it  in  paying  quantities.  It  is 
there,  everywhere.  We  traveled  over  1,000  miles 
of  the  interior  and  found  gold  wherever  we  dug 
for  it. 

"I  never  in  all  my  life  saw  a  country  where 
there  is  so  much  and  so  many  variations  of  light 
as  in  Alaska.  I  don't  think  it  ever  rains  in  the 
interior.  The  sun  shone  with  dazzling  brilliancy 
during  our  entire  trip,  and  no  sooner  had  it  set, 
than  the  aurora  boreaiis  overspread  the  skies 
with  its  fantastic  and  shifting  colors.  At  nighl, 
it  was  truly  a  country  of  fairyland,  the  shadows 
and  tones  of  these  northern  lights  being  simply 
wonderful.  I  have  seen  them  so  bright  that  I 
could  read  by  their  light. 

"I  believe  that  I  stated  to  you  that  the  inte- 
rior is  destitute  of  game.  This  is  true,  with  but 
one  exception.    The  Yukon  River  is  full  of  little 


18 


Klondike. 


H' 


!!' 


-  ;i 


1 1' 
iiiiih 


r 


K'i   !l 


11:  ii 


■    k 


black  ducks  during  the  summer.  They  live  on 
mussels  and  are  continually  diving  for  them. 
They  are  far  from  being  wild,  and  I  have  seen 
them  swim  up  close  enough  to  touch  our  canoe 
lots  of  times.  They  are  not  good  eating,  how- 
ever, having  a  rank,  fishy  taste. 

"There  seems  to  be  but  three  varieties  of  vege- 
tation in  the  interior.  Fir  and  yellow  cedar 
forests  cover  the  land,  and  the  rank,  waist-high 
moss.  It  resembles  more  nearly  some  variety  of 
cactus,  and  is  so  full  of  saws,  prongs,  etc.,  as  to 
be  impenetrable.  The  cedars  and  firs  are  none 
of  them  very  large,  but  appear  to  be  very  old, 
some,  perhaps,  having  grown  there  for  ages." 

A  correspondent  of  the  Washington  Evening 
Star,  says:  "It  is  not  necessary  for  everybody  to 
feed  on  dog  meat  on  the  Upper  Yukon  River  and 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  Klondike  gold  field  in  win- 
ter, as  a  member  of  the  party  which  was  up  there 
said  several  of  the  members  did.  He  refused 
the  dish,  but  at  the  same  time  he  acknowledged 
that  more  than  once  after  food  had  been  thrown 
to  the  dogs,  literally  speaking,  he  had  snatched 
it  away  from  them  before  they  could  eat  it. 
Fish  which  small  worms  had  appropriated  to 
themselves  he  did  not  hesitate  to  eat,  he  said, 
and  was  glad  to  get  it. 

"That  is  one  of  the  great  troubles  which  will 
be  encountered  by  persons  visiting    the    gold 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


19 


fields.  The  further  up  the  Yukon  one  travels 
the  scarcer  becomes  the  food  supply,  until  in  the 
Klondike  region  and  ther^^abouts  it  ceases  almost 
entirely.  There  is  practically  no  large  game, 
with  the  exception  of  one  or  two  moose  and  rein- 
deer, which  have  become  separated  from  the  rest 
of  the  herd  and  wandered  out  there.  So  that 
prospectors  who  intend  visiting  the  field  should 
not  rely  in  the  least  on  the  resources  of  the  coun- 
try to  feed  them.  There  may  be  a  few  rabbits, 
ducks  and  geese  in  the  spring,  which  disappear 
very  quickly.  These  are  not  sufficient  to  supply 
even  the  wants  of  the  few  natives  who  wander 
nomadically  about  the  region. '* 

Lower  down  the  Yukon,  at  certain  seasons  of 
the  year,  there  is  abundance  of  game,  probably 
from  400  to  500  miles  from  the  Klondike  River. 
The  moose  is  about  the  largest  of  the  animals, 
while  the  reindeer  is  fairly  plentiful.  As  the 
population  has  increased,  the  game  has  corres- 
pondingly decreased,  and  in  the  winter  the 
Indians  there  have  a  hard  time  securing  food, 
as  they  are  very  improvident.  During  the 
season  when  it  is  abundant  they  never  think  of 
laying  by  a  supply.  There  are  beavers  on  the 
streams,  and  various  kinds  of  deer,  bear,  and 
caribou.  In  the  winter  months  these  go  south 
or  disappear  almost  entirely.  The  polar  bear 
is  found  several  degrees  further  north,  never  ap- 
pearing in  that  vicinity. 


20 


Klondike. 


I  ■!; 


lil.i' 


>>'il 


i 


I       : 


:H    I, 


In  the  mountain  streams  which  f'^ed  the  Yu- 
kon River,  up  toward  its  head,  near  the  Kathul 
Mountain,  there  are  mountain  trout  of  good  size 
and  flavor.  Many  of  these  streams  dry  up  in  the 
winter,  as  they  are  fed  by  glaciers,  which,  of 
course,  in  cold  weather  are  frozen  entirely.  The 
salmon  is  found  in  the  Yukon  in  immense  num- 
bers in  summer.  The  whitefish  M'hich  is  found 
near  the  Klondike  River,  is  said  to  be  excellent 
eating.  It  ranges  in  size  about  the  same  as  our 
black  bass,  and  is  one  of  the  chief  mainstays  of 
the  Indians.  In  winter,  if  it  is  not  too  cold, 
holes  are  cut  in  the  ice,  and  the  fish  pulled  out  by 
means  of  bone  hooks.  They  are  more  plentiful 
than  any  other  kind,  and  the  ice-cold  water  ap- 
pears to  be  their  natural  habitat. 

Early  in  the  spring  water  lowl,  such  as  ducks, 
geese  and  swan,  put  in  an  appearance,  but  they 
do  not  tarry  long,  and  wend  their  w^y  after  a 
stay  of  only  a  few  days.  They  are  very  plenti- 
ful when  they  do  appear,  and  the  natives  kill 
them  by  hundreds.  The  trouble  is,  however, 
that  things  of  the  kind  do  not  last  as  they  do  in 
warmer  climates. 

Reindeer  formerly  were  seen  in  very  large 
numbers  on  the  Yukon,  some  two  or  three  hun- 
dred miles  from  where  the  Klondike  flows  into 
it,  and  a  gentleman  who  spent  two  or  three  win- 
ters there  several  years  ago  has  stated  that  he  had 


"fffiT' 


lill! 


pij 


II 


1 

j. 

1! 

;  '■■{■.■ 

1  :  ; 

JHii! 


hi 


!  r- 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


21 


seen  a  herd  of  at  least  5,000  cross  the  river  on 
the  ice  in  one  day. 

Klondyke  would-be  prospectors  should  bear  in 
mind  the  fact  that  in  that  region,  where  game  is 
scarce,  the  appetite  is  something  wonderful.  All 
kinds  of  food  are  eaten  with  rPiish,  particularly 
anything  that  has  fat  or  grease  about  it.  The 
sharp  air  increases  hunger  nearly  a  hundred  fold, 
and  it  is  necessary  to  have  plenty  of  provisions 
in  order  to  withstand  temperatures  sometimes 
as  low  as  68  degrees  below  zero.  Persons  who 
have  passed  the  winter  there  state  that  it  is 
much  better  not  to  touch  alcoholic  liquors,  as 
the  after  effects  from  indulgence  in  them  are 
much  worse  than  any  benefit  which  may  be  de- 
rived from  temporary  stimulation. 

Tea  is  considered  one  of  the  best  things  which 
can  be  taken,  and  it  is  drunk  in  large  quantities, 
strong,  and  as  hot  as  possible.  This  seems  to 
keep  the  heat  in  and  the  cold  out  better  than 
anything  else.  All  kinds  of  canned  goods  are 
excellent,  and  dried  '^uits  or  lime  juic3  should 
be  included  in  every  bill  of  fare,  as  scurvy  is  pre- 
vented by  making  use  of  them.  It  is  necessary 
to  use  large  quantities  of  salt  meats,  which  often 
produce  the  disease. 

It  it  believed  by  travelers  up  the  Yukon  Kiver 
that  vegetables  that  grow  rapidly  could  be  raised 
profitably  in  the  summer  months.     Potatoes,  it 


■■■■I 


22 


Klondike. 


il.:; 


'ii '!-  ■ 


;ii   i'.. 


:liH 


i.' 

M 
1. , 

'III;' 
ill 


Mi 


'i:  ,1,  I; 


ii  I 


is  thought,  could  be  brought  to  fruition  without 
trouble,  and  turnips  also.  The  latter  have  been 
raised  successfully  by  missionaries  400  or  500 
miles  or  so  from  the  source  of  the  river.  The 
sun  there  has  naturally  very  much  power  in 
the  three  or  four  months  of  summer,  and  in 
hothouses  lettuce  and  other  vegetables  could  be 
raised  easily. 

When  Humboldt  expressed  the  opinion  that 
j^old  came  from  the  north  he  did  not  adduce 
much  evidence  in  support  of  his  theory.  We 
have  had  a  wonderful  demonstration  of  the  truth 
of  his  suppositions  in  the  Yukon  Valley. 

The  more  we  reflect  upon  the  extraordinary 
gold  deposits  there,  the  more  bewildered  we  be- 
come. Every  claim  which  has  been  operated  on 
the  gold-bearing  creeks  has  become  a  producer. 
We  have  yet  to  hear  of  a  single  locator  who 
failed  to  find  gold  if  he  went  down  to  bed  rock. 
There  are  a  great  many  claims  yet  to  hear  from 
upon  which  no  work  has  been  done  yet,  and  as 
there  are  winter  diggings,  we  shall  not  hear  from 
these  for  a  long  time  yet.  Experience  proves 
that  mines  in  a  mineral  country  are  discovered 
in  proportion  to  the  number  of  prospectors  out. 
It  is  therefore  quite  reasonable  for  us  to  assume 
that  we  shall  hear  some  interesting  news  from 
the  interior,  when  ^he  hundreds  of  miners  who 
have  recently  gone  down  the  river  have  had  time 


A  Manual  for  Gold  ISeekers. 


28 


.V.W 


to  spread  themselves  over  the  country.  The 
district  in  which  Bonanza  and  Eldorado  Creeks 
are  situated  forms  but  a  small  portion  of  an  im- 
mense mineral  belt.  The  few  hundred  men  who 
were  in  the  country  at  the  time  the  discovery 
was  made  took  up  claims  one  after  the  other  on 
the  creeks  which  were  known  to  carry  gold,  and 
in  many  instances  sold  them  for  large  sums  with- 
out putting  in  a  pick  or  panning  out  a  shovel  full 
of  gravel.  Of  these,  some  remain  to  live  a  life 
of  hilarity  at  Dawson,  and  others,  more  prudent, 
are  coming  out  with  their  fortunes  intact.  Such 
wa-^  the  conditions  of  affairs  before  the  popula- 
tion of  the  district  was  augmented  by  the  spring 
arrivals.  Now  there  will  be  vigorous  and  sys- 
tematic prospecting  done,  and  the  country  will 
be  closely  examined  for  many  miles  around  the 
present  diggings.  Hitherto  the  best  results  have 
been  obtained  in  the  fall,  and  we  may  look  with 
some  certainty  for  a  result  from  this  summer's 
prospecting. 

Even  in  the  most  favorable  of  times  the  life  of 
a  miner  on  the  Yukon  could  not  be  an  easy  one. 
A  practical  mining-engineer  publishes,  in  one  of 
the  Ottawa  papers,  a  catechism  which,  he  says, 
every  would-be  gold-hunter  should  ask  himself 
before  he  starts: 

"Have  I  a  capital  of  at  least  $500?  Am  I 
subject    to    any    organic    or    chronic    disease. 


I    i  I 


■HI 


24 


Klondike. 


■Jli 


''i:  ill 


i! 


i:l»S!!i 


ill  i'l .  j 


mil 


■i 


especially  rheumatism?  Am  I  physically  sound 
in  every  way  and  able  to  walk  thirty  miles  a  day 
with  a  fifty-pound  pack  on  my  back?  Am  I 
willing  to  put  up  with  the  rough  fare,  sleep 
anywhere  and  anyhow;  do  my  own  cooking  and 
washing;  mend  my  own  clothes?  Can  I  leave 
home  perfectly  free,  leaving  no  one  dependent 
on  me  in  any  manner  for  support?  Can  I  do 
entirely  without  spirituous  liquors?  Can  I  work 
like  a  galley-slave  for  months  if  need  be,  on  poor 
fare,  and  sometimes  not  enough  of  that,  and  still 
keep  up  a  cheerful  and  brave  spirit?  Am  I 
pretty  handy  with  tools  and  not  subject  to  lazy 
fits?  Can  I  swim,  and  handle  boats  and  canoes; 
put  up  with  extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  and  bear 
incessant  torture  from  countless  swarms  of  mos- 
quitoes, gnats  and  sand-flies?" 

For  men  who  are  healthy  and  strong,  who  love 
adventure  and  beautiful  scenery,  who  have 
money  to  keep  themselves  for  two  years — or  more 
if  they  don't  make  a  strike — for  such  men  to  go 
into  this  country  is  all  right,  and  a  good  thing. 

Owing  to  the  gold  discoveries  at  Klondike 
much  interest  is  lent  to  any  fresh  information 
regarding  that  region.  The  oflBcial  report  made 
to  the  census  office  in  1890  contains  a  mass  of 
information  bearing  indirectly  on  the  general 
section  of  the  country  in  which  the  Klondike  is 
situated,  and  the  appended  extracts  will  bo 
found  worthy  of  attention. 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


25 


The  mighty  stream  known  as  the  Yukon  does 
not  appear  by  that  name  on  the  map  until  the 
conflnence  of  the  Pelly  and  Lewis  Rivers  is 
reached,  about  longitude  137  degrees  3  minutes 
west,  in  British  Northwest  Territory.  Both  of 
the  latter  are  large  rivers.  The  Lewis  River  is 
the  best  known,  having  been  used  for  the  past  six 
years  as  the  highway  from  southeastern  Alaska  to 
the  gold  diggings  on  the  Yukon,  near  the  east- 
ern boundary  of  Alaska.  Its  length  from  Lake 
Lindermann,  one  of  its  chief  sources,  to  the 
junction  with  the  Pelly  is  about  375  miles,  and  it 
lies  entirely  in  British  territory,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  miles  of  the  lakes  at  its  head. 

The  Pelly  River  takes  its  rise  about  Dease 
Lake,  near  the  headwaters  of  the  Stikine  River, 
with  a  length  of  some  500  miles  before  joining 
the  Lewis  to  form  the  Yukon  River.  The  union 
of  these  two  streams  forms  a  river  varying  from 
three-quarters  to  a  mile  in  width.  For  many 
miles  the  northern  bank  is  a  solid  wall  of  lava, 
compelling  the  swift  current  to  follow  a  westerly 
course  in  search  of  an  outlet  to  the  nor^h.  The 
southern  bank  is  Comparatively  low,  formed  of 
sandy,  alluvial  soil.  A  few  miles  above  the 
White  River  the  stream  takes  a  northerly  course 
through  a  rugged,  mountainous  country,  receiv- 
ing the  addition  of  the  waters  of  the  "White  River 
on  the  south,  so  called  from  the  milky  color  of 


26 


Klondike. 


ii'ip' 


m 


its  waters,  and  a  few  miles  further  on  the 
waters  of  the  Stuart  on  the  north.  The 
current  is  exceedingly  swift  here,  especially  at 
a  high  stage  of  water,  as  I  saAV  it,  being  at 
least  six  or  seven  miles  an  hour.  From  Stuart 
River  to  Fort  Reliance  both  banks  are  closed  in 
by  high  mountains,  formed  chiefly  of  basaltic  rock 
and  slaty  shale.  Many  of  the  bluffs  are  cut  and 
worn  in  the  most  picturesque  shapes  by  glacial 
action.  At  Fort  Reliance,  an  abandoned  trading 
post,  the  general  course  of  the  stream  changes 
to  northwest,  continuing  thus  for  a  distance  of 
about  500  miles,  or  as  far  as  the  confluence  with 
the  Porcupine  River,  which  flows  from  the  norih. 
Some  forty  miles  from  Fort  Reliance  the 
mouth  of  Forty-Mile  Creek  is  passed,  where  is 
located  the  miners'  trading  post.  On  that  creek, 
or  river,  we  find  the  chief  gold  diggings  known 
at  the  present  time.  Some  thirty-eight  miles 
from  there  the  river  crosses  the  eastern  boundary 
of  Alaska.  Here  was  located  for  the  last  two 
seasons  the  camp  of  one  party  of  the  Alaska 
boundary  survey,  it  having  been  previously  the 
camp  of  the  Canadian  government  party.  For 
100  miles  after  crossing  the  boundary  the  river 
runs  in  one  broad  stream,  confined  on  either  side 
by  high  banks  and  a  mountainous  country,  known 
as  the  ''upper  ramparts."  It  then  widens  out, 
and  for  a  distance  of  150  miles  is  a  network  of 


,,  .1 


\\ 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


27 


channels  and  small  islands.  At  old  Fort  Yukon, 
an  abandoned  Hudson  Bay  post,  it  attains  its 
highest  northern  latitude,  being  just  within  the 
Arctic  circle.  From  main  bank  to  bank  the  dis- 
tance has  been  found  to  be  seven  miles  at  a  point 
just  above  the  site  of  Fort  Yukon.  This  place  is 
probably  the  only  serious  obstacle  to  navigation 
that  is  met  with  from  its  mouth  to  Fort  Selkirk, 
a  distance  of  over  1,600  miles,  the  channel  here 
shifting  from  year  to  year,  and  being  at  certain 
stages  of  water  difficult  to  find.  From  Fort  Yu- 
kon to  the  mouth  thu  river  has  been  frequently 
traveled  and  described,  rendering  further  de- 
scription unnecessary.  Without  actually  taking 
measurements  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  while 
traveling  on  the  river  to  determine  the  immense 
volume  and  magnitude  of  the  stream. 

The  population  of  the  Yukon  country  is  very 
sparse.  At  certain  times  during  the  year  a  trav- 
eler might  pass  down  the  Yukon  from  Forty- 
Mile  Creek  to  Nuklukayet  and  hardly  see  a  score 
of  natives  in  a  distance  of  800  miles.  The  dif- 
ferent villages  or  communities  seem  to  be  under 
the  guidance  of  chiefs  and  subchiefs,  though 
there  does  not  appear  to  be  much  authority  ex- 
erted by  them,  and  I  could  never  ascertain  that 
this  chieftainship  was  hereditary. 

Their  mode  of  transportation  in  summer  time 
is  by  rafts,  boats,  and  birch-bark  canoes,  and  is 


Klondike, 


ii ,'  I 


J!   \ 
i :    ; 


entirely  confined  to  the  streams  and  water 
courses;  in  tlio  winter  time  sleds  are  used,  drawn 
by  dogs,  men  or  women.  Their  hmguage  is 
known  to  the  missionaries  as  a  dialect  of  Tukudh 
(Takuth),  but  tiiey  converse  with  the  traders  in 
a  jargon  called  "Slavey,"  a  mixture  of  Canadian 
French,  ai.d  hybrid  words  of  English,  something 
in  the  nature  of  the  *  "Chinook"  of  Southeastern 
Alaska. 

In  winter  a  species  of  mudfish  called  blackfish, 
found  in  the  lakes,  is  a  great  food  source,  being 
caught  in  quantities  in  traps  during  the  fall  and 
winter,  allowed  to  freeze  and  then  **aten  raw. 
Ijarge  quantities  of  water  fowl  eggs  are  obtained 
in  season,  also  the  birds  themselves,  it  being  the 
summer  home  of  many  varieties  of  ducks,  geese, 
swans,  and  other  aquatic  fowl.  In  winter  the 
only  means  of  traveling  is  in  sleds  drawn  by 
dogs. 

Mining  cannot  be  called  a  success  on  the 
Yukon  up  to  the  present  time.  Since  the  first 
excitement  in  1886,  there  have  been  few  instances 
of  individuals  taking  out  of  the  country  more 
than  $2,000  for  two,  and  even  three  seasons  of 
privation  and  hardship.  There  are  but  a  few  iso- 
lated cases  of  more  than  that  amount  being 
taken  out.  The  majority  of  the  miners  are 
working  on  prospects  with  a  heavy  account  at 
the  store  against  them.     The  hardships  of  travel- 


il!t  iii 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


29 


ing  to  prospect,  the  short  working  season,  and 
the  frozen  ground  are  obstacles  difficult  to  over- 
come. The  prices  of  supplies  at  the  store  are 
high  considering  the  small  means  at  the  disposal 
of  the  miners,  but  they  are  not  much  more  than 
barely  remunerative  to  the  trader,  owing  to  the 
expense  and  risk  of  transportation. 

The  merchandise  is  carried  on  the  river  by 
means  of  stern-wheel  steamers,  the  two  prin- 
cipal ones  belonging  to  the  Alaska  Commercial 
Company;  one  of  200  tons  and  the  other  of  30 
tons  capacity,  carrying  freight  and  passengers. 
On  the  larger  boat  there  is  a  white  man  for 
captain  and  another  for  engineer;  but  both 
captain  and  engineer  are  unlicensed  and  with- 
out papers;  the  rest  of  the  crew  are  Indians. 
There  are  three  other  small  steamers,  two  be- 
longing to  the  Russian  and  Catholic  missionaries 
respectively,  and  one  to  the  trader  at  Fort  Sel- 
kirk. All  supplies  are  received  at  St.  Michael, 
on  Norton  Sound,  80  miles  north  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Yukon,  the  furs  and  gold  obtained  being 
turned  over  to  the  Alaska  Commercial  Com- 
pany's agent  there,  and  shipped  to  San  Fran- 
cisco. Once  a  year,  in  June,  missionaries  and 
traders  assemble  at  St.  Michael,  and  for  a  few 
days  that  place  is  doing  a  rushing  business.  It 
has  ^become  a  regular  fair  for  the  natives,  who 
gather  in  numbers  from  various  points  on  the 


80 


Klondike. 


1 1 

1 1 


coast  and  river,  getting  a  few  days*  work  from 
the  company  and  having  the  satisfaction  of  see- 
ing the  new  stock  of  merchandise. 

The  influx  of  miners  in  the  country'has  pro- 
duced marked  changes  among  the  natives,  and 
not  to  their  benefit  morally.  The  illicit  manu- 
facture and  use  of  liquor,  both  by  the  traders  of 
the  company  and  miners,  is  certainly  demoraliz- 
ing the  natives  to  a  great  extent.  It  is  openly 
carried  on  both  on  the  upper  and  lower  river. 
At  Andreafsky,  on  the  lower  river,  it  is  a  com- 
mon sight  to  see  intoxicated  ^natives,  more 
especially  in  the  winter,  and  the  natives  have 
now  learned  the  process  of  making  liquor  for 
themselves,  more  particularly  on  the  coast,  and 
on  the  lower  Yukon. 

On  the  coast  the  temperature  varies  from  70 
degrees  Fahrenheit  in  summer  to  40  degrees  and 
45  degrees  below  zero  in  winter.  The  late  sum- 
mer and  fall  is  usually  stormy  and  wet,  the  snow- 
fall in  winter  being  from  three  to  five  feet  on  a 
level.  Navigation  is  closed  to  the  outside  for 
seven  months  in  the  year  by  heavy  ice  on  the  sea. 
The  Yukon  River  is  closed  by  ice  from  Novem- 
ber to  the  end  of  May.  In  the  interior  the 
climate  is  drier  and  warmer  in  summer,  but 
many  degrees  colder  in  winter,  the  thermometer 
going  as  low  as  60  degrees  below  zero.  The 
snowfall  is  excessive,  but  less  wind  prevails  here 
in  winter  than  on  the  coast. 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


31 


In  speaking  of  the  physical  features  of  the 
great  Yukon  Valley  and  of  its  native  inhabitants 
I  prefer  to  begin  with  the  coast  region  and 
deltoid  mouth  of  the  river,  following  it  up  and 
giving  my  impressions  just  as  they  struck  me 
during  my  gradual,  frequently  interrupted,  ad- 
vance from  the  low  seaboard  to  the  rocky  gorges 
of  the  upper  river. 

The  observant  traveler,  standing  upon  the 
deck  of  one  of  the  small  stern-wheel  boats  labor- 
iously pushing  its  way  against  the  powerful  cur- 
rent of  turgid,  rolling  waters,  will  be  struck  with 
the  immense  area  of  alluvial  soil  which  has  been 
carried  bodily  for  centuries  and  ages  from  the 
far  interior  to  the  verge  of  Behring  Sea.  The 
land  here  is  being  made  and  unmade  under  our 
very  eyes.  The  ice-laden  freshets  of  each  re- 
turning spring  never  leave  unchanged  the  con- 
tour of  the  shores  which  but  imperfectly  confine 
the  rushing  waters.  A  solid  cake  of  ice,  caught 
in  an  eddy  and  set  into  swirling  motion,  grinds 
against  the  loosely  constructed  bank,  and  under- 
mines it  until  a  mass  of  sand  or  clay  falls  down 
upon  it.  The  impetus  given  by  the  precipatated 
earth  drives  the  ice  cake  out  of  the  eddy  and 
sends  it  adrift  upon  the  current,  to  be  carried  on 
and  on,  until  stranded  again  upon  the  low 
beaches  of  the  delta,  or  some  distant  island  of 
the  sea,  when  its  cargo  of  soil  will  be  deposited 


lii 


:!ii 


32 


Khndihe. 


as  a  gift  of  the  great  Yukon.  On  the  other 
hand,  hind-making  is  going  on  just  as  constantly. 
The  accidental  lodgment  of  one  of  the  gnarled 
giants  of  the  inland  forests  on  its  way  seaward 
may  cause  the  formation  of  a  muddy  bar  or 
island  within  the  space  of  a  few  years.  Thickets 
spring  up  from  twigs  of  willow  dej>osited  by  the 
passing  flood,  or  from  seed  carried  by  the  wind, 
and  strengthen  the  new  ground,  binding  to- 
gether its  component  parts  with  their  roots  until 
it  can  resist  the  ordinary  pressure  of  rushing 
flood  and  grinding  ice.  Even  a  sudden  rise  of  a 
few  feet  in  the  water,  or  an  unusually  heavy  for- 
mation of  ice  on  the  upper  river  may  undo  in  a 
few  moments  what  nature  has  been  years  in 
creating.  The  little  island  will  then  dissolve 
like  snow  before  the  sun,  and  its  component 
parts  be  torn  away,  and  carried  suspended  in  the 
raging  flood  until  the  neutralizing  action  of  op- 
posing tides  causes  them  to  settle  and  scatter 
broadcast  over  the  shallow  bottom  of  Behring  Sea, 
contiguous  to  the  great  river's  mouth. 

Under  more  congenial  skies  this  vast  accumu- 
lation of  the  richest  soil  would  doubtless  attract 
a  teeming  population;  and  who  knows  whether 
this  mighty  water  power  may  not  now  be  build- 
ing for  the  future,  when  some  slight  deviation  In 
the  axis  of  our  whirling  globe  may  unlock  the 
icy  fetters  that  now  bind  the  land.,  compelling 


I 


( 


. 


^ 


^ 


i 


A  Mcmual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


83 


man  to  rely  upon  the  products  of  the  sea  alone 
for  his  subsistence,  and  tefiching  him  to  look  but 
for  scanty  favors  from  Mother  Earth.  Should 
that  time  come  in  some  far  distant  period,  there 
will  be  here  a  field  of  agricultural  wealth  and 
greatness  surpassing  in  range  and  possibilities 
that  of  the  acient  Nile.  The  very  sea  is  aiding 
in  building  up  and  enriching  this  possible  gran- 
ary of  future  geologic  ages,  by  sending  its  finny 
denizens  by  countless  millions  up  into  every  vein 
and  artery  of  the  vast,  surging  and  throbbing 
water  system,  impregnating  both  soil  and  water 
with  minute  deposits  of  highly  fertilizing  quali- 
ties. 

The  main  features  of  the  boundary  line  be- 
tween Alaska  and  Canada  are  the  irregular  line 
extending  from  the  head  of  Portland  Inlet  in 
latitude  .56  degrees,  around  the  waters  of  the 
great  archipelago  Alexander,  at  a  distance  not 
greater  than  ten  marine  leagues  from  the  con- 
tinental shore,  to  the  141st  meridian  west  of 
Greenwich,  and  the  straight  line  running  thence 
to  the  Arctic  Ocean  on  that  meridian.  Where 
this  irregular  line  meets  the  141st  meridian  rises 
the  great  Mount  St.  Elias,  which  is  in  latitude 
60  degrees  17  minutes  and  34.4  seconds,  and  lon- 
gitude 140  degrees,  55  minutes  and  19.6  seconds. 
This  peak  is  about  twenty-seven  statute  miles 
from  the  ocean  shore. 


84 


Klondike. 


From  a  point  on  the  141st  meridian  and  prob- 
ably in  nearly  the  same  latitude  as  Mount  St. 
Elias,  the  boundary  line  runs  true  north  to 
Demarcation  Point  on  the  Arctic  .  hores — a  dis- 
tance of  6G0  statute  miles. 

In  this  great  distance  the  line  crosses  compar- 
atively few  large  streams;  at  100  miles  it  crosses 
the  head  waters  of  the  White  Kiver,  a  tributary 
of  the  Yukon,  flowing  to  the  north-northwest; 
at  205  miles,  an  unnamed  tributary  of  the  White 
Kiver.  At  the  last  distance  on  the  boundary 
line  the  Yukon  River  lies  forty  miles  to  the  east- 
ward at  a  well-known  bend  and  gorge  known  as 
the  Upper  Ramparts.  The  river  continues  on  a 
northerly  course  nearly  parallel  with  the  bound- 
ary line  for  seventy-five  miles  to  old  Fort  Reli- 
ance, near  the  Klondike,  and  thence  trends 
seventy-five  miles  northwest  by  north,  to  where 
the  boundary  line  crosses  it  at  335  miles  from 
Mount  St.  Elias.  The  boundary  line  next  crosses 
a  little-known  river  called  the  Big  Black, 
a  tributary  of  the  Lower  Porcupine,  at  445 
miles;  and  the  Porcupine  River,  one  of  the 
great  tributaries  of  the  Yukon,  at  510  miles;  this 
is  the  last  river  of  much  size  that  it  encounters. 
As  it  runs  northward  it  meets  the  upper  waters  of 
the  Old  Crow  River,  which  heads  in  Turner's 
Pass  of  the  Davidson  range;  crosses  this  great 
range  at  595  miles,  where  the  elevation  was  esti- 


f 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


35 


mated  by  Turner  to  be  7,000  feet;  and  at  660 
miles  reaches  Demarcation  Point  on  the  Arctic 
shore,  about  150  miles  west-northwest  from  the 
delta  of  the  Mackenzie  Kiver  in  Canada. 

This  boundary  line  traverses  an  almost  un- 
known country;  it  passes  over  mountain  ranges, 
reaching  10,000  feet  elevation;  and  the  country 
is  utterly  impassable  for  the  first  100  miles  north 
of  the  St.  Elias  range.  The  longest  stretches  of 
reconnaissance  on  the  line  were  made  by  young 
John  H.  Turner,  of  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Sur- 
vey, from  Camp  Colonna  on  the  Porcupine,  which 
is  sixty  miles  north  of  the  Arctic  circle.  With 
three  aids  and  dog  teams  he  crossed  the  hitherto 
unknown  Davidson  range,  at  the  pass  named  after 
himself,  at  an  elevation  of  3,500  feet,  encounter- 
ing one  blizzard  when  the  temperature  was  50  or 
60  degrees  below  zero.  His  second  trip  was  forty 
miles  south  of  his  camp,  toward  his  colleague, 
John  E.  McGrath,  at  Camp  Davidson  on  the 
Yukon.  He  thus  reconnoitered  200  miles  of  the 
boundary  line,  through  a  country  never  before 
traversed  by  a  white  man,  and  in  his  zeal  con- 
tracted a  chronic  disease,  which  carried  him  off 
two  years  after  his  return  home. 

Where  the  Yukon  crosses  the  boundary  line  its 
course,  which  is  northwest  by  north  from  Fort 
Reliance,  continues  in  a  general  direction  to  the 
northwest  for  235  miles  to  the  deserted  Fort 


mmmfmamm 


36 


Klo7idike, 


Yukon  at  the  mouth  of  the  PorcMpine.  All  that 
part  of  the  Yukon  Kiver  to  the  eastward  of  the 
141st  meridian,  and  all  its  principal  tributaries 
come  from  the  southeastward;  the  principal 
river  under  different  names  reaching  within  a 
few  miles  of  the  head  waters  of  the  Stickeen. 
The  headwaters  of  the  main  tributary,  the 
Lewis  River,  reach  nearly  into  Alaska  Territory 
at  the  White  Pass,  the  Chilkoot  Pass  and  the 
Chilkat  Pass,  just  north  of  Lynn  Canal. 

The  geograpliical  position  of  Fort  Reliance,  an 
old  station  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  river,  is  latitude  64  degrees  13 
minutes,  longitude  138  degrees  50  minutes,  or  50 
statute  miles  east  of  thr  boundary  line  of  the  141st 
degree.  The  stream  named  Klondike  Creek 
enters  the  Yukon  about  six  or  eight  miles  higher 
up  than  Fort  Reliance,  and  on  the  same  side  of 
the  river.  So  far  as  known  it  comes  from  the 
east-northeast  for  about  one  hundred  miles,  and 
is  reported  *navig«ble  by  canoes  for  forty  or  fifty 
miles  from  its  mouth. 

Whatever  doubt  has  been  cast  upon  the  posi- 
tion of  the  whole  Klondike  district  being  in  Brit- 
ish Columbia  must  have  arisen  from  a  misunder- 
standing of  the  dispute  existing  upon  the  proper 
location  of  that  part  of  the  boundary  line  lying 
eastward  and  southward  of  Mount  St.  Elias. 
The  north  or  meridian  line  of  the  boundary  has 


A  Mcmual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


37 


been  accurately  determined  at  three  points — near 
Mount  St.  Elias,  at  the  crossing  of  the  Yukon 
River,  and  at  the  crossing  of  the  Porcupine  River. 
The  determination  of  the  southern  end  was  made 
in  1892  by  John  E.  McGrath  and  John  H. 
Turner,  of  the  United  States  Coast  Geodetic 
Survey,  in  combination  with  a  hydrographic 
party,  which  carried  chronometers  for  the  diiler- 
ence  of  longitude  between  Sitka  and  Yakutat. 
At  Sitka  was  Fremont  Morse,  of  the  Coast  Sur- 
vey. At  the  Yukon  River  Mr.  McGrath  and 
party  spent  two  years  at  Camp  Davidson,  twenty- 
three  miles  below  Forty-Mile  Creek,  observing 
meridian  transits  of  the  moon,  and  occultations 
of  stars  by  the  moon,  for  longitude.  His  observ- 
atory being  a  little  distance  off  the  141st 
meridian,  he  measured  to  that  meridian  and 
marked  it.  Mr.  Ogilvie,  on  behalf  of  the  Cana- 
dian Government,  also  observed  for  the  longi- 
tude at  another  and  independent  point,  and  then 
measured  to  the  141st  meridian. 

The  latest  information  places  the  two  inde- 
pendent determinations  of  this  meridianal 
boundary  line  within  the  width  of  a  few  feet. 
So  there  cannot  be  the  remotest  possibility  of  any 
friction  between  the  two  governments  upon  this 
question.  We  know  the  strong  and  high  character 
of  Mr.  McGrath,  and  Mr.  Ogilvie  has  likewise 
a  reputation  of  the  highest  character.    The  only 


88 


Klondike. 


local  dispute  that  could  possibly  arise  would  be 
in  the  Forty-Mile  Creek  district;  because  the 
boundary  lino  crosses  sharp,  steep,  mountain 
ridges  3,500  and  3,000  feet  high  and  an  inferior 
instrumental  means  might  cause  a  slight  doubt  of 
the  direction  in  some  case.  However,  no  dispute 
has  arisen  in  the  district,  nor  is  it  likely  that  any 
will  occur.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  line  has 
been  satisfactorily  laid  down  by  Mr.  Ogilvie  or 
some  of  his  assistants. 

In  quitting  the  subject,  the  longitude  station 
of  Mr.  Turner  may  be  referred  to.  After  ob- 
taining a  series  of  satisfactory  results  he  made  a 
topographical  reconnaissance  of  the  Porcupine  to 
its  mouth,  a  distance  of  140  miles  as  the  crow 
flies. 

There  is  little  doubt  that  the  Klondike  gravel 
deposits,  as  far  as  they  go,  are  the  richest  ever 
discovered.  In  the  early  days  of  placer  mining 
in  California  as  rich  deposits  were  found  in 
pockets  here  and  there,  but  never  extensive 
deposits  which  averaged  as  high.  There  have 
come  no  competent  opinions  or  accounts  from 
mining  experts,  and  there  are  at  hand  no  state- 
ments of  what  any  of  the  deposits  have  averaged 
to  the  cubic  yard  or  ton,  but  the  stories  of  the 
generally  inexperienced  miners,  the  results  in 
gold  dust,  and  the  prices  of  $50,000  or  more 
for  which  claims  have  been  sold,  establish  the 


H 


A  Mcmual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


39 


general  richness  of  the  fields.  The  excep- 
tional concentration  of  alluvial  gold  is  undoubt- 
edly due  to  the  geographical,  or  rather  topo- 
graphical conditions  under  which  nature  washed 
the  gold  into  the  big  sluices,  which  the  valleys 
are  in  effect.  Descriptive  accounts  by  intelli- 
gent mining  engineers,  mineralogists,  and  geol- 
ogists, will  be  read  with  great  interest  whenever 
they  arrive. 

The  Klondike  fields  are  comparatively  limited 
in  extent.  The  Klondike  is  a  small  tributary  of 
the  upper  Yukon,  and  the  richest  deposits  are 
found  in  the  beds  of  some  of  the  short  and  small 
creeks  that  empty  into  it.  Whether  any  other 
placers  as  rich  exist  in  that  region  remains  to  be 
seen.  The  placers  which  have  been  worked  with 
fair  success  for  five  or  six  years  by  an  increasing 
number  of  men  are  in  the  beds  of  water  courses, 
fifty  to  a  hundred  miles  down  the  Yukon  on  the 
Alaskan  side  of  the  boundary,  and  close  to  the 
point  where  the  boundary,  the  Yukon  River  and 
the  Arctic  circle  cross  each  other.  These  have 
now  all  been  abandoned  for  the  far  richer  dig- 
gings found  fifty  miles  or  so  across  the  boundary, 
as  it  is  unofficially  supposed  to  be  located. 

For  the  time  the  placer  diggings  engross  atten- 
tion, but  more  significant  than  the  gold  found  in 
the  frozen  gravel  of  the  water  courses  is  the  evi- 
dence they  present  of  the  existence  of  rich  quartz 


40 


Klondike. 


!    1 


ledges,  from  which  the  gold  has  been  eroded. 
The  veins  from  which  nature  has  milled  this  gold 
are  hidden  somewhere  above,  and  will  be  found. 
A  great  quartz-mining  development  in  the  inte- 
rior of  Alaslca,  and  in  the  most  northerly  region 
of  the  Northwest  Territory,  may  be  confidently 
predicted.  No  quartz  ledges  have  yet  been 
found,  and  none  have  been  looked  for.  There 
are  the  most  insuperable  difficulties  presented  by 
any  gold  region  of  the  world  to  overcome  before 
the  era  of  quartz-mining  makes  a  faint  begin- 
ning. 

The  country  is  extremely  difficult  to  prospect. 
The  summers  are  short,  the  ground  is  covered  by 
thick,  stunted  growths  and  tangled  moss,  and 
is  perpetually  frozen  a  little  under  the  sur- 
face. The  transportation  of  anything  in  the 
way  of  mining  machinery  would  now  be 
enormously  expensive.  But  the  quartz-mining 
era  will  come.  Already  coal  deposits  of  value 
are  announced.  The  Government  of  British 
Columbia  is  moving  to  accede  to  the  popular  de- 
mand for  the  opening  of  a  trail  to  the  new  region 
through  British  territory,  and  already  the  rail- 
road, which  would  be  pushed  north  with  the  aid 
of  provincial  subsidies  if  sufficient  resources  were 
discovered,  is  vaguely  talked  of.  Rich  veins  of 
gold,  quartz-mills,  and  railroad  locomotives  inside 
the  Arctic  circle  reasonably  meet  the  prolonged 


A  Mcmual/or  Gold  Seekers. 


41 


vision.  A  few  months  ago  a  member  of  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey,  who  made  a 
superficial  reconnaissance  of  the  Yukon  country, 
predicted  the  discovery  of  quartz  veins  through- 
out a  region  300  miles  long. 

The  Yukon  country  presents  strange  and  new 
problems  for  mining  engineering.  Present  oper- 
ations are  of  the  crudest,  and  the  gold-pan  stage 
of  development  has  not  been  passed.  The  rich 
gravel  lies  a  few  ftet  under  the  streams,  which 
are  frozen  up  most  of  the  year.  The  gravel  has 
to  be  mined  out  during  the  winter,  when  every- 
thing is  frozen  solid,  by  sinking  shafts  and  drift- 
ing in  below  the  frozen  streams,  by  alternately 
thawing  the  ground  with  fires  and  hoisting  the 
dirt  to  the  dumps.  When  capitalists  get  hold  of 
some  of  the  richer  claims,  and  send  in  skilled 
mining  engineers,  there  will  be  a  field  for  ingenu- 
ity and  reports  of  much  scientific  interest. 

Professor  J.  Edward  Spurr,  of  the  United 
States  Geological  Survey,  has  this  to  say  about 
the  Yukon  district: 

**Our  party  crossed  to  the  headwaters  of  the 
Yukon  by  the  Chilkoot  Pass,  and  proceeded  by 
boat  down  the  Yukon  to  Forty-Mile  Creek.  All 
of  the  known  placer  deposits  were  examined,  and 
the  origin  of  the  gold  in  them  was  traced  to 
veins  of  quartz  along  the  headwaters  of  the  vari- 
ous streams  entering  the  Yukon. 


i.i! 


42 


Klondike. 


I 


i    ' 


^'Sufficient  data  was  secured  to  establish  the 
presence  of  a  gold  belt  300  miles  in  length  in 
Alaska,  which  enters  the  Territory  near  the 
mouth  of  Forty-Mile  Creek  and  extends  west- 
ward across  the  Yukon  Valley  to  the  lower 
ramparts.  Its  further  extent  is  unknown.  It  is 
the  opinion  of  the  geologist  in  charge  of  the  ex- 
pedition that  it  is  entirely  practicable  to  prose- 
cute quartz  mining  throughout  the  year  in  this 
region.  He  discovered  along  the  river  large 
areas  of  rocks  containing  hard  bituminous  coal. 
Running  in  a  direction  a  little  west  of  northwest 
through  the  territory  examined  is  a  broad,  con- 
tinuous belt  of  highly  altered  rocks.  To  the  east 
this  belt  is  known  to  be  continuous  for  100 
miles  or  more  in  British  territory.  The  rocks 
constituting  this  belt  are  mostly  crystalline 
schists  associated  with  marbles  and  sheared 
quartzites,  indicating  sedimentary  origin  for  a 
large  part  of  the  series.  These  altered  sedimen- 
tary rocks  have  been  shattered  by  volcanic  action. 

* 'Throughout  these  altered  rocks  there  were 
found  veins  of  quartz  often  carrying  pyrites  and 
gold.  Many  of  the  veins  have  been  cut,  sheared 
and  torn  into  fragments  by  the  force  that  has 
transformed  sedimentary  rocks  into  crystalline 
schist,  but  there  are  others  containing  gold, 
silver  and  copper  that  have  not  been  badly 
broken. 


^^ill 


\ 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


43 


"These  more  continuous  ore-bearing  zones  have 
not  the  character  of  ordinary  quartz  veins,  al- 
though they  contain  much  silica.  Instead  of  the 
usual  white  quartz  veins  the  ore  occurs  in 
sheared  and  altered  zones  of  rock,  and  gradually 
runs  out  on  both  sides.  So  far  as  is  known  these 
continuous  zones  of  ore  are  of  relatively  low 
grade.  Concerning  the  veins  of  white  quartz 
first  mentioned,  it  is  certain  that  most  of  them 
which  contain  gold  carr^  it  only  in  small  quanti- 
ties, and  yet  some  few  are  known  to  be  very  rich 
in  places,  and  it  is  extremely  probable  that  there 
are  many  in  which  the  whole  of  the  ore  is  of 
comparatively  high  grade. 

"The  general  character  of  the  rocks  and  of  the 
ore  deposits  is  extremely  like  that  of  gold-bear- 
ing formations  along  the  southern  coast  of 
Alaska,  in  which  the  Treadwell  and  other  mines 
are  situated,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  richness 
of  the  Yukon  rocks  is  approximately  equal  to 
that  of  the  coast  belt.  It  may  be  added  that  the 
resources  of  the  '^'in.st  belt  have  been  only  par- 
tially explored. 

"Since  the  formation  of  the  veins  and  other  de- 
posits of  the  rocks  of  the  gold  belt  an  enormous 
length  of  time  has  elapsed.  During  that  time  the 
forces  of  erosion  have  stripped  off  the  overlying 
rocks  and  exposed  the  metalliferous  veins  at  the 
surface  for  long  periods,  and  the  rocks  of  the 


% 


44 


Klondilce. 


gold  belt,  with  the  veins  which  they  include, 
have  crumbled  and  been  carried  away  by  the 
streams  to  bo  deposited  in  widely  diilerent  places 
as  gravels,  or  sands,  or  mud.  In  Alaska  the 
streams  have  been  carrying  away  the  gold  from 
the  metalliferous  belt  for  a  very  long  period,  so 
that  particles  of  the  precious  metal  are  found  in 
D'jarly  all  parts  of  the  Territory. 

**It  is  only  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
gold-bearing  belt,  however,  that  the  particles  of 
gold  are  large  and  plentiful  enough  to  repay 
working  under  present  conditions.  Where  a 
stream  heads  in  the  gold  belt  the  richest  diggings 
are  likely  to  be  near  its  extreme  upper  part. 
This  upper  part  of  the  current  is  so  swift  that 
the  lighter  material  and  the  finer  gold  are  car- 
ried away,  leaving  in  many  places  a  rich  deposit 
of  coarse  gold,  overlaid  by  coarse  gravel,  the 
pebbles  being  so  large  as  to  hinder  rapid  trans- 
portation ' '  water. 

**It  is  such  conditions  that  the  diggings 

whi(^  .  ow  being   worked  are  found,  with 

son  inportant  exceptions.     The  rich  gulches 

of  the  Forty-Mile  district,  and  of  the  Birch  Crr  ek 
district,  as  well  as  other  fields  of  less  importance, 
all  head  in  the  gold-bearing  formation.  A  short 
distance  below  the  heads  of  these  gulches  the 
stream  valley  broadens,  and  the  gravels  contain 
finer  gold  more  widely  distributed. 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers, 


46 


"Along  certain  parts -of  the  stream  this  fine 
gold  is  concentrated  by  favorable  currents  and  is 
often  profitably  washed,  this  kind  of  deposit  com- 
ing under  the  head  of  bar  diggings.  Gold  in 
these  more  extensive  gravels  is  often  present  in 
sufficient  quantity  to  encourage  the  hope  of  suc- 
cessful extraction  at  some  future  time  when 
work  can  be  done  more  cheaply  and  with  suitable 
machinery.  The  extent  of  these  gravels  which 
are  of  possible  value  is  very  great." 

The  future  agriculturist  and  stock-raiser  in 
the  region  of  which  Dawson  is  now  the  gilded 
capital,  must  take  into  consideration  the  long 
and  severe  winter  season,  and  the  frozen  moss- 
covered  ground.  The  land,  however,  can  be 
made  serviceable  by  turning  the  surface  mosa 
and  opening  the  soil  to  the  influence  of  the  sun 
and  air  in  summer  time.  In  this  way  some 
small  areas  have  .^een  brought  under  cultivation. 

The  returned  miners  r  port  that  many  large 
stretches  of  burnt  country  have  undergone  a 
complete  change  of  vegetation  after  two  burn- 
ings. 

The  cereals  have  hardly  been  experimented 
with,  though  there  is  a  tradition  that  the  Hud- 
son Bay  Company  at  Fort  Yukon  had  a  small 
quantity  of  barley  coming  to  maturity. 

Barley  has  been  raised  in  small  quantities  at 
FoH-y-Miie  Creek,     Potatoes  J?'"^  done  well  at 


46 


Klondike. 


-i- 


all  points  on  the  river,  but  the  seed  has  been 
difficult  to  obtain. 

Stock  can  be  kept  by  using  care  in  providing 
abundant  winter  feed  by  ensilage,  or  curing 
natural  grass  hay,  and  housing  it  in  the  winter. 

In  summer  time  an  abundance  of  the  finest 
grass  is  to  be  found  almost  everywhere  for  hur- 
dred  of  miles  in  the  neighborhood  of  Dawson. 

The  ingrefs  of  gold-seekers  along  the  Klondike 
has  visibly  a.'ected  the  modes  of  living  among 
the  natives,  who  are  now  forsaking  their  more 
primitive  habits  for  those  of  the  miners.  At 
Forty-Mile  Creek  members  of  the  Takudh  tribe 
have  built  themselves  log  cabins  which  they  in- 
habit the  year  round,  and  they  fully  appreciate 
the  advantages  of  stoves  and  clothing  from  "the 
States."'  The  younger  Indians  are  more  fastidi- 
0U3  in  their  dress  than  the  average  white  man. 
They  are  industrious  and  fairly  enterprising, 
many  of  them  working  successfully  at  mining 
for  wages  paid  by  the  whites,  and  some  are  min- 
ing on  their  own  account. 

As  far  back  as  1860  a  deposit  of  gold  was 
found  in  the  basin  of  the  Yukon  by  a  prospector 
named  George  Holt.  He  also  reported  the  find- 
ing of  coarse  specimens  along  the  Hootalinqua 
Eiver.  But  it  was  the  discovery  of  gold  near 
Sitka  in  1873,  followed  by  the  finds  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Junea'^   n  1890,  that  drew  att^ution  to  the 


t 


A  JIanual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


47 


possibilities  of  the  newly  acquired  Territory  of 
Alaska  as  a  gold-producing  country.  The  great 
abundance  of  gold  was  lirst  made  known  by 
Joseph  Juneau,  who  prospected  in  the  region 
around  the  city  bearing  his  name.  In  1885  min- 
ing prospectors  began  to  scatter  themselves 
along  the  rivers  Pelly  and  Hootalinqua,  and  in 
the  year  following  much  mention  was  made  of 
the  Stuart  River  as  a  field  for  the  enterprising 
gold-hunter.  Rich  strikes  were  made  in  1893  by 
prospectors  along  Miller  Creek,  a  tributary  of 
Sixty-Mile  Creek.  The  progress  made  in  finding 
gold  along  the  Alaskan  and  British  Columbian 
Rivers,  although  giving  high  promise  of  ture 
discoveries  of  gold,  was  not  followed  by  any- 
thing which  created  a  widespread  adventurous 
spirit  among  people  who  were  outside  the  min- 
ing region. 

To  the  daring  spirit  of  Peter  the  Great  belongs 
the  honor  of  the  Russian  expeditions  which  led 
to  the  discovery  of  Alaska.  The  czar  conceived 
the  ambitious  project  of  founding  an  American 
Russia,  and  thus  extending  his  dominions  over 
three  continents.  The  leadership  of  these  ex- 
plorations he  intrusted  to  Vitus  Behring,  a  Dan- 
ish captain  in  the  Russian  service.  On  February 
5,  1725,  the  expedition  set  out  overland  through 
Siberia,  and  three  days  later  the  czar  died,  but  hia 
instructions  were  faithfully  carried  out  by  Catb-^ 
erine,  his  wife,  and  Elizabeth,  his  daughter. 


48 


Klondike. 


Ifj.; 


III' 


This  arduous  work  of  exploring  the  Siberian 
coast  and  waters  continued  for  sixteen  years  be- 
fore the  Alaskan  coast  was  sighted.  The  second 
Kamschatkan  expedition  was  six  years  in  cross- 
ing Siberia.  It  was.  in  the  spring  of  1714  that 
Behring  and  his  lieutenant  Chirikof  put  out  into 
Behring  Sea,  whose  waters  his  chief  had  discov- 
ered on  a  previous  expedition.  They  had  two 
small  vessels.  One  was  commanded  by  Behring, 
the  other  by  Chirikof.  The  little  craft  became 
separated  at  sea,  and  were  never  reunited. 
Chirikof  bore  away  to  the  east,  and  during  the 
night  of  July  15,  1741,  sighted  land  in  latitude 
55.21.  It  was  afterward  disclosed  that  this  was 
thirty-six  hours  in  advance  of  Behring's  discovery 
of  the  mainland  of  America. 

Chirikof  sent  a  parly  ashore  in  one  of  his 
small  boats,  to  explore  the  immediate  country 
and  secure  fresh  water.  Soon  after  leaving  the 
vessel  they  passed  around  a  rocky  point  and  dis- 
appeared from  sight.  As  they  failed  to  return 
at  the  appointed  time,  another  boat's  crew  Wc  i 
sent  ashore.  Soon  a  great  smoke  was  seen  aris- 
ing from  the  shore,  and  kWO  large  canoes,  filled 
with  threatening  natives  came  out  from  the  land. 
They  refused  to  board  the  strange  ship,  and  it 
dawned  upon  Chirikof  that  all  the  men  he  had 
sent  ashore  had  been  massacred.  This  reduced 
his  crew  to  small  numbers,  and  Chirikof  decided 
to  return  to  the  Kamschf  ^^an  coast. 


i^- 


i 


A  Marmot  for  Gold  Seekers. 


49 


►■ 


I 


The  return  voyage  was  attended  with  frightful 
hardships  and  suffering.  Scurvy  attacked  the 
men,  many  died,  and  the  others  were  rendered 
helpless  by  sickness.  After  weeks  of  this  suffer- 
ing, the  vessel  reached  the  Kamschatkan  coast, 
with  only  the  pilot  on  deck.  Chirikof  was  one 
of  the  first  stricken  with  scurvy,  but  recovered. 

Behring's  party  suffered  even  greater  hardships. 
After  sighting  the  coast  and  making  a  landing, 
Behring  gave  orders  to  lift  anchor  and  return  to 
Kamschatka.  The  ship  becam'3  lost  in  the  maze 
of  islands,  and  was  wrecked  upon  a  barren  is- 
land. There  the  survivors  passed  the  winter, 
many  of  them  dying.  Caves  were  dug  in  the 
sandbank  of  a  little  stream,  and  a  scanty  and  un- 
certain food  supply  was  obtained  by  killing  sea 
animals  and  resorting  to  the  flesh  of  dead  whales 
cast  upon  the  beach.  Behring  died  on  this  island 
December  8,  1741. 

In  the  spring  the  handful  of  survivors  con- 
structed a  boat  from  their  wrecked  vessel  and 
succeeded  in  working  their  way  back  to  the 
Siberian  coast,  where  they  were  received  with 
great  rejoicing,  having  long  been  given  up  for 
dead. 

Among  the  peoqle  who  have  Just  returned 
from  the  new  Klondike  gold  mines  are  men  who 
had  been  for  more  than  ten  years  facing  the 
dangers  and  hardships  of  the  frozen  North  in 


: 


50 


Klondike. 


the  hope  of  making  a  rich  find,  and  signally 
failed.  Now  tliey  come  back  with  fortunes 
stowed  in  their  gripsacks  and  stories  of  untold 
millions  to  be  picked  up  in  the  country  of  which 
so  little  is  known.  The  new  El  Dorado  lies  just 
across  the  Alaskan  boundary,  in  British  terri- 
tory. It  is  of  recent  discovery;  but  already  there 
are  at  least  5,000  people  on  tlie  ground,  and 
more  are  flocking  in  that  direction.  The  dis- 
covery of  the  Klondike  region  presents  a  story 
that  is  uncommonly  interesting.  Around  Forty- 
Mile  Camp,  on  the  Yukon,  is  a  tribe  of  Indians 
known  as  the  Slickers,  and  with  them  is  a  man 
who,  years  ago,  was  known  as  George  Cormack, 
but  who  is  now  called  **Slick  George."  In  Sep- 
tember last,  at  the  head  of  a  party  of  Indians, 
he  left  his  hut  near  Forty-Mile  Camp,  and 
started  in  a  southerly  direction,  saying  that  he 
intended  to  find  a  new  gold  field  before  his  re- 
turn. He  came  back  two  weeks  later  and 
startled  the  miners  with  the  announcement  that 
forty  miles  away  there  was  gold  to  be  found  in 
plenty.  The  streams  abounded  with  the  yellow 
metal,  and  all  that  was  needed  was  for  somebody 
to  pick  it  up.  Many  persons  flocked  to  the 
place,  and  in  time  the  word  reached  Forty-Mile 
Camp  that  untold  riches  could  be  found  along 
the  bottom  of  Bonanza  Creek  and  its  tribu- 
taries.    Men  who  had  failed  at  the  former  camp 


i 


\:\ 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


51 


\ 


r 

X 


immediately  packed  up  their  belongings  and  set 
out  for  the  new  fields.  It  was  a  hard  and  trying 
journey,  but  that  was  nothing  with  the  promise 
of  millions  at  the  end  of  the  route. 

The  Yukon  River,  which  crosses  Alaska  from 
east  to  west  and  empties  into  the  Pacific  a  little 
south  of  Behring  Strait,  is  said  to  be  a  mightier 
stream  than  the  Columbia.  River  steamers  nav- 
igate it  hundreds  of  miles  from  its  mouth.  Pas- 
sengers from  Seattle  are  usually  transferred  from 
ocean  steamships  to  these  vessels  at  St.  Michael's 
Island,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Yukon.  The 
source  of  the  river  is  in  British  territory,  300  or 
300  miles  south  of  the  point  where  the  stream 
crooks  away  westward  into  Alaska.  In  fact,  it 
may  be  said  to  drain  very  jiearly  the  same  moun- 
tain slopes  as  the  Fraser,  Columbia,  Peace,  and 
Stickine.  It  was  natural,  therefore,  to  expect 
that  gold  would  be  found  along  the  main  chan- 
nel of  the  Y'^ukon  or  some  of  its  tributaries. 
Explorers  were  sent  out  from  two  bases.  One 
set  went  up  the  river  from  its  mou^h,  traversing 
the  whole  of  Alaska  from  west  to  east,  and 
another  pushed  up  from  the  south,  from  the  vi- 
cinity of  Juneau,  through  Chilkat  Pass.  An 
American  company  established  trading  stations 
near  the  source  of  the  river  five  or  six  years  ago. 
Most  of  the  prospecting  has  been  done  either  be- 
tween this  locality  and  the  point  where  the  river 


62 


Klondike. 


m 


crossed  into  Alaska,  or  within  the  first  100  miles 
over  the  line.  Fine  gold  dust  in  small  quanti- 
ties was  found  at  the  mouth  of  the  Porcupine 
River,  a  stream  that  joins  the  Yukon  about  100 
miles  west  of  the  boundary,  and  also  near  the 
mouth  of  Forty-Mile  Creek,  most  of  whose  course 
lies  in  Alaska,  but  which  crosses  into  British  ter- 
ritory before  emptying  into  the  big  river.  Fort 
Cudahy  is  situated  here,  and  Circle  City,  where 
there  were  other  mining  camps,  is  about  fifty 
miles  further  west.  These  places  are  about  1800 
or  1900  miles  from  the  sea,  if  one  travels  by 
steamboat,  and  in  the  winter  are  completely  cut 
off  from  the  outer  world.  The  Klondike  Kiver  is 
not  to  be  found,  or,  at  least,  is  not  easily  identified 
on  most  maps;  it  is  a  small  stream,  like  Forty- 
Mile  Creek,  and  discharges  into  the  Yukon  not 
many  miles  from  the  eastern  boundary  of  Alaska. 
Still,  Seattle  papers  advertise  transportation  to 
the  Klondike  region  to  Fort  Cudahy  and  Circle 
City,  by  ocean  steamers  that  transfer  to  river 
boats  at  St.  Michael's  Island! 

The  district  is  intersected  by  the  65th 
parallel  of  north  latitude,  and  has  an  Arctic 
climate.  The  gravel  is  frozen  solid  all  the  year 
except  for  a  few  weeks,  or  at  most  two  or  three 
months,  and  has  to  be  thawed  out  in  some  way 
before  the  gold  can  be  separated.  The  streams 
which  supply  the  water  for  washing  the  dirt  also 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


58 


freeze  up.  Hence  placer  mining  must  be  con- 
ducted there  under  great  disadvantages.  The 
new  camp  is  peculiar  for  several  reasons.     The 

nadian  provincial  police  do  not  allow  the  men 
to  carry  arms.  If  the  miners  get  drunk  and 
fight  they  use  their  fists,  and  the  land  laws  are  so 
good  that  no  claim-jumping  is  possible.  Daw- 
son City  now  has  4,000  people,  and  it  is  ex- 
pected that  2,000  more  will  swarm  in  before  snow 
flies  and  the  trail  from  Juneau  is  closed  for  the 
winter. 

The  strike  was  made  in  the  Klondike  region 
in  August  and  September,  1896,  but  the  news 
did  not  get  even  to  Circle  City  until  December 
15,  when  there  was  a  great  stampede  over  the 
300  miles  intervening  between  there  and  the 
newer  fields.  During  the  winter,  when  the 
streams  entering  into  the  Klondike  were  frozen 
solid,  work  in  100  claims  was  prosecuted,  and 
heaps  of  frozen  gravel  were  piled  up  on  the 
banks  of  the  streams  awaiting  to  be  thawed  out 
in  the  spring.  The  gold  is  found  under  from  13 
feet  to  20  feet  of  sand  and  gravel  at  the  bed  of  the 
creek.  Through  the  ice  the  miners  burned 
holes  with  fire,  and  then  blasted  out  the  pay  dirt 
on  the  benches  of  bed  rock.  On  August  12 
George  Cormack  made  the  first  great  strike  on 
Bonanza  Creek,  and  on  August  19  seven  claims 
were  filed  in  that  region.     Word  got  to  Forty- 


54 


Klondihe. 


Mile  and  Circle  City,  but  the  news  was  looked 
upon  as  a  rumor.  On  December  15,  however, 
authentic  news  was  carried  to  Circle  City  by  J. 
M.  Wilson,  of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company, 
and  Thomas  O'Brien,  a  trader. 

The  towns  of  Circle  City  and  Forty-Mile,  on 
the  Yukon,  were  deserted  a  week  after  the  news 
reached  there  late  in  the  spring,  and  the  residents 
adjourned  en  masse  to  the  Klondike. 

The  country  covered  by  Klondike  camp  is  small 
in  ares,  extending  from  the  mouth  of  the  river 
only  nine  miles  west.  There  is  an  immense 
reach  of  country  beyond  which  has  not  as  yet 
been  prospected.  At  this  rate  Alaska's  popula- 
tion will  be  trebled  in  a  year.  Those  who  made 
the  300  miles  iirst  struck  it  richest.  Of  all  the 
200  claims  staked  out  on  the  Bonanza  and  Eldo- 
rado Creeks  not  one  has  proved  a  blank.  Not 
less  than  300  claims  have  been  staked  out.  The 
largest  nugget  yet  found  was  picked  up  on  Claim 
No.  6,  on  the  Bonanza,  and  was  worth  $260. 
Some  have  brought  out  but  a  portion  of  their 
clean-up,  preferring  to  invest  other  portions  in 
mines  they  knew  to  ^e  rich.  Among  the  most 
lucky  are  J.  J.  Clements,  of  Los  Angelos,  who  has 
cleaned  up  about  $170,000;  he  brought  out  $50,- 
000  and  invested  the  res;;  Professor  T.C.  Lippy, 
of  Seattle,  who  brought  out  about  $50,000  and 
claims  to  have  $150^000  in  sight,  and  thinks  his 


it 


i 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


55 


k 


mine  is  worth  $500,000  or  more;  William  Stan- 
ley, of  Seattle,  who  cleaned  up  $100,000,  and 
Clarence  Berry,  the  same.  All  this  gold  is  the 
clean-up  of  last  winter's  work. 

The  stories  of  the  returned  miners  vary  only 
in  the  details  of  their  good  fortune.  L.  B. 
Rhodes,  an  old  miner,  tells  the  following  story: 
**I  am  located  on  Claim  No.  21,  above  the  dis- 
covery on  Bonanza  Creek.  I  was  among  the  for- 
tunate ones,  as  I  cleared  about  $40,000;  but 
brought  only  $5,000  with  me.  I  was  the  first 
man  to  go  to  bed  rock  gravel,  and  to  discover 
that  it  was  lined  with  gold  dust  and  nuggets. 
The  rock  was  seamed  and  cut  in  V-shaped 
streaks,  caused,  it  is  supposed,  by  glacial  action. 
In  these  seams  I  found  a  clay  which  was  exceed- 
ingly rich.  In  fact,  there  was  a  stratum  of  pay 
gravel  4  feet  thick  upon  the  rock,  which  was  lined 
with  gold,  particularly  in  these  channels  or 
streaks.  The  rock  was  about  16  feet  from  the 
surface.  That  discovery  made  the  camp.  It 
was  made  on  October  23,  1896,  and  as  soon  as 
the  news  spread  everybody  rushed  to  the  dig- 
gings from  Circle  City,  forty  miles  away,  and 
every  other  camp  in  the  district.  There  was  a 
lack  of  food.  We  had  nothing  but  what  was 
sledded  from  Forty-Mile.  Flour  sold  as  high  as 
$45  a  sack,  and  shovels  at  $18.  I  invested  my 
money  in  another  claim^  a  two-thirds  divided  in- 


I 


If 


66 


Klondike. 


■  I 


terested  in  Claim  No.  23.  If  I  had  not  bought 
in  I  could  have  brought  out  at  least  $25,000,  but 
the  investment  there  is  the  best  security,  and 
pays  interest  from  15  to  25  per  cent,  a  year.'* 

The  Alaska  MinUig  Record,  published  in 
Juneau,  contains  letters  stating  that  the  stories 
told  are  not  exaggerated.  "One  hundred  dol- 
lars to  the  pan  is  very  common.  One  can  hardly 
believe  it,  but  it  is  true,  nevertheless.  A  very 
hard  country  to  live  in  on  account  of  the  mos- 
quitoes and  poor  grub,  but  healthy  and  a  show 
to  make  a  ten-strike.  There  is  nothing  a  man 
could  eat  or  wear  that  he  cannot  get  a  good  price 
for.  First-class  rubber  boots  are  worth  from  an 
ounce  to  $25  per  pair.  The  price  of  flour  has 
been  raised  from  $4  to  $6  and  was  selling  at  $50 
when  we  arrived,  as  it  was  being  freighted  from 
Forty-Mile.  One  boat  has  already  reached 
here,  and  another  is  expected  to-day.  Big 
money  can  be  made  by  bringing  small  outfits  over 
the  trail  this  fall.  Wages  have  been  $15  per  day 
all  winter,  though  a  reduction  to  $10  was  at- 
tempted; but  the  miners  quit  work."  Another 
letter  says:  ''It  will  pay  to  bring  anything  here 
which  can  be  carried  in;  the  demand  is  good, 
and  prices  such  that  there  is  money  in  anything 
that  can  be  brought  in." 

In  speaking  of  American  miners  in  the  Yukon 
and  through  Canadian  territory,  Governor  Mack- 


i 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


67 


intosh,  of  the  Northwest  Territories,  said 
that  those  who  have  made  discoveries  and 
complied  with  the  laws  are  on  the  same 
plane  as  British  subjects,  and  entitled  to  the 
same  rights,  privileges  and  protection.  This, 
according  to  Governor  Mackintosh,  is  in  line 
with  the  policy  of  the  Canadian  Government 
in  its  desire  to  encourage  the  best  American 
miners,  who  are  considered  the  best  miners  in 
the  world,  to  go  to  the  Northwest  Territory  and 
assist  in  its  development. 

He  then  spoke  of  the  unwritten  laws  of  the 
district  and  of  the  sense  of  honor  that  prevails 
among  the  men  who  have  gone  into  the  district 
as  miners.  Inspector  Strickland  had  told  him 
that  he  had  walked  into  a  cabin  in  which  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars  lay  unpro- 
tected. While  its  value  was  recognized  on  all 
sides,  no  attempt  was  made  at  any  time  to  steal 
it.  Food  that  is  cached  along  the  trails  is  un- 
molested. If  a  hungry  man  passes  along  he 
takes  a  nibble,  but  that  is  all.  There  are  un- 
written laws  of  the  miners  that  have  a  founda- 
tion of  honor,  and  if  any  violation  of  the  customs 
of  the  district  were  perpetrated  it  would  be  a 
sorry  day  for  the  person  who  tried  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  trust  imposed  upon  all. 

Governor  Mackintosh  said  that  in  this  much- 
discuss^  district  the  gold  area  is  not  confined. 


! 


m 

.1,1 

'  'i 


58 


Klondike. 


There  are  nearly  9,000  miles  of  waterways  con- 
necterl  with  and  tributary  to  the  McKenzio, 
Porcupine,  Laird,  Peily,  Lewis  and  Yukon 
Rivers,  not  mentioning  the.  Stuart  and  Hoota- 
linqua  Kivers.  Some  of  these  are  very  large 
creeks  from  twenty  to  fifty  feet  wide.  All  have 
gold-bearing  gravel. 

For  instance,  Dominion  Creek  appears  to  prom- 
ise quite  as  rich  a  yield  as  the  Klondike.  "To 
be  candid,"  said  Mr.  Mackintosh,  "it  would 
seem  as  though  this  placer  area  will  be  inexhaust- 
ible, and  possible  to  work  for  years  to  come, 
while  the  old  Hudson  Bay  explorers  state  that 
some  of  the  quartz  mines  north  and  west  of  the 
Yukon  will  yield  from  $200  to  $300  per  ton, 
free-milling  ore.  Added  to  this  the  timber  sup- 
ply in  various  sizes  follows  all  of  the  water 
stretches.  Coal  has  been  found  in  the  valley  of 
Forty-Mile  Creek  and  at  other  points." 

The  governor  states  that  his  disposition  is  not 
to  encourage  wild  excitement  or  to  foster  an  un- 
desirable quality  of  emigration.  He  does  not 
think  that  any  one  should  go  who  is  not  well 
provided  with  everything  demanded  by  the  con- 
ditions of  the  rigorous  climate. 

The  area  hastily  examined  during  last  season 
is  but  a  portion  of  the  great  interior  of  Alaska. 
That  gold  occurs  over  a  large  extent  of  country 
has  been  d^^^rmined,  but  the  richness  of  the 


•|-!f  '  i : 


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A  Mcmual  for  Gold  Seehers. 


69 


various  veins  and  lodes  remains  to  be  ascer- 
tained by  actual  mining  operations.  Gold  is 
known  to  occur  in  the  great  unexplored  regions 
Bouth  of  the  Yukon,  ber^uso  of  its  presence  in 
the  wash  of  the  streams,  ctnd  it  is  quite  probable 
that  the  Yukon  gold  belt  extends  to  the  north 
and  west,  but  this  can  be  determined  only  by 
further  exploration. 

There  is  a  comparatively  unknown  region 
north  of  Cook's  Inlet.  M'ps  show  that  the 
Alaska  Mountains  are  broken  down  north  of 
Cook's  Inlet,  and  that  the  Sushitna  River  ex- 
tends almost  directly  north  150  miles,  when  it 
branches,  one  large  tributary  coming  from  the 
west  and  another  from  the  northeast.  The  latter 
was  followed  up  northward  200  miles  to  a  large 
lake. 

"Talk  about  it  being  hot  here  to-day,"  sr^id 
one  bearded  Yukoner  to  a  Seattle  man,  "whj*. 
this  is  cool  weather  compared  to  what  we  get 
during  the  Alaskan  summer  along  the  valley  of 
the  Yukon.  The  sun  swings  around  there  in  a 
circle  for  three  months,  just  dipping  below  the 
horizon  part  of  the  time  for  a  night  which  is 
from  three  minutes  to  three  hours  long.  It  is 
one  day  for  six  weeks,  when  the  sun  never  sets, 
and  the  only  night  is  one  conjured  up  in  the 
imagination.  Talk  about  it  being  hot.  Why, 
up  in  the  Yukon  Valley  in  the  foothills,  the 


60 


Klondike. 


average  temperature  during  the  summer  is  105 
to  120  degrees.  It  never  rains  and  the  heat  is 
pitiless.  The  atmosphere  is  dry,  however,  and 
one  can  stand  the  heat  better  than  in  India,  say, 
where  the  heat  is  mixed  with  humidity.'* 

"There  is  a  peculiar  thing  about  the  valley  of 
the  Yukon  and  all  southeastern  Alaska,  in  fact," 
says  Mr.  Swineford,  who  from  1885  to  1890  was 
governor  of  that  part  of  the  United  States,  and 
is  now  government  inspector  of  surveyors-general 
and  district  land  officers,  and  who  owns  large 
mining  properties  in  Alaska.  "That  is  the  per- 
petual verdure  during  the  summer  months.  No 
matter  how  hot  it  is  nor  how  dry — the  rain  may 
not  fall  from  the  beginning  of  June  until  the 
close  of  summer  or  the  last  of  August — yet  the 
grass  and  shrubbery  will  be  as  green  and  luxuriant 
as  it  is  here  now.  Your  verdure  this  summer, 
on  account  of  the  excessive  rainfall,  is  something 
like  that  in  the  interior  of  Alaska,  dark  green 
and  sturdy,  full  of  life,  like  a  healthy,  robust 
man.  In  Alaska,  however,  the  luxuriance  and 
virility  of  the  verdure  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
ground  never  thaws  below  a  depth  of  six  to  ten 
feet.  No  matter  how  hot  it  is,  the  hotter  the 
better,  the  frozen  ground  continually  gives  up  to 
the  roots  of  the  grasses  and  growing  grains  a 
life-giving  moisture. 

"The  Yukon  Valley  is  like  the  valley  of  ^he  Eed 


itii 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


61 


\ 


Kiver  of  the  North  in  Minnesota.  Although  the 
mines  are  rivh  and  easily  worked  it  costs  a  small 
fortune  to  get  them  in  condition  to  mine,  and  it 
costs  lots  of  money  to  live  and  to  transport  the 
gold  dust  to  a  market.  The  average  young  man 
who  makes  up  his  mind  to  strike  for  the  Yukon 
gold  fields  imagines  that  his  journey  is  ended 
when  he  reaches  Juneau — that  he  has  but  to 
step  across  the  country  and  he  is  at  the  Yukon. 
He  will  find,  however,  that  he  is  greatly  mis- 
taken. On  arriving  at  Juneau  ho  will  have  to 
get  an  outfit  that  will  cost  him  from  ^500  to  $600, 
and  then  he  will  have  to  cross  a  wild  mountain- 
ous country,  along  Indian  trails.  He  will  have 
to  cross  four  large  lakes  and  make  three  portages 
before  he  reaches  the  Yukon  River.  Arrived 
there,  however,  it  is  comparatively  easy  sailing 
uutil  he  comes  to  a  likely  tributary,  up  which  he 
will  have  to  work  to  a  placer  field. 

"In  summer  the  heat  is  something  awful  in  the 
valleys  of  those  little  tributaries,  and  the  miner 
is  compelled  to  wear  a  closely-woven  mosquito 
netting  over  his  face  and  gloves  on  his  hands,  to 
keep  from  being  blinded  by  the  mosquitoes  and 
black  flies,  which  swarm  in  countless  numbers  in 
the  valleys.  So  bad  are  they  that  the  sleeves  at 
the  wrists  and  the  trousers  at  the  ankles  must  be 
tied  tightly,  or  the  little  pests  will  crawi  iTiside. 
Their  sting       ^ms  to  be  more  venomo  '  than 


Ml 
11 


I' 


w 


IRMi 


62 


Klondike. 


Ui 


iS ;  ^ ; 


ii 


that  of  the  mosquito  and  black  fly  here.  It  is 
impossible  to  keep  domestic  animals  in  the  val- 
leys— the  flies  will  blind  them  in  a  day.  All  the 
wild  animals,  the  reindeer,  elk,  etc.,  remain  on 
the  mountains  during  the  summer. 

*'\Vhat  the  country  needs  above  all  things  is 
communication  with  the  outside  world.  If  the 
government  at  Washington  would  make  some 
arrangement  whereby  the  Canadians  could  get  a 
port  of  entry  on  the  disputed  part  of  the  coast, 
it  would  be  a  great  boon  to  Alaska,  as  well  as  to 
this  part  of  the  Northwest  Territory.  Most  of 
the  men  who  ''hit  it"  are  Americans,  whose  gold 
will  go  to  San  Francisco  and  the  United  States. 
Because  of  the  lack  of  adequate  communication 
with  the  civilized  Avorld  the  miners  are  in  con- 
stant fear  lest  supplies  should  give  out.  Many 
articles  can  be  had  but  for  a  limited  time  after 
the  arrival  of  a  steamer,  and  those  who  are  not 
fortunate  enough  to  get  a  supply  at  that  time 
must  do  without  for  weeks  and  months,  no 
matter  how  much  gold  they  may  have  to  make 
purchases  with.  The  scarcity  may  be  one  of 
provisions,  window  sashes,  or  gum  boots,  but  al- 
ways there  is  a  scarcity  there  of  some  important 
article.  Generally  there  is  never  enough  of  any- 
thing, and  only  the  opening  up  of  communica- 
tion with  the  coast  by  some  other  route  than  the 
mouth  of  the  Yukon  offers  any  pn^speot  of  ade- 


)     I 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


63 


quate  relief.  If  the  Canadians  had  a  port  of 
entry  they  would  have  commerce  coming  down 
the  river  from  the  direction  of  Junean,  and  the 
country  would  not  be  dependent  upon  the  scanty 
supplies  coming  1,900  miles  up  the  Yukon  from 
Behring  Sea." 

There  are  lots  of  creeks  as  yet  unprospected 
and  lots  of  gold  to  be  had,  and  it  is  all  right  if 
you  go  fully  prepared  for  the  worst.  The  first 
year  must  be  practically  lost,  so  the  only  show  is 
for  a  man  to  buy  some  claim  or  go  to  work. 
The  rate  of  wages  will  fall,  and  he  will  be  again 
badly  off. 

The  country  is  well  timbered  about  Klondike. 
The  summer  is  dry,  hot  and  pleasant.  Grain  is 
mostly  a  failure.  Turnips  and  radishes  will 
flourish,  and  potatoes,  though  small,  will  grow 
well.  Cabbages  will  not  head  at  all.  Fodder  is 
abundant,  and  cattle  could  be  easily  kept  if  they 
were  taken  into  the  country. 

The  growth  of  plants  is  rapid  after  the  snow 
disappears.  In  June  the  sun  sets  about  10:30 
P.M.  and  rises  about  3  a.m.  Even  at  midnight, 
however,  it  is  almost  as  light  as  at  noonday. 

The  mean  temperature  of  Klondike  for  the 
four  seasons  is  as  follows: 

Spring,  14.22;  summer,  59.67;  autumn,  17.37; 
winter— 30.80. 

Think  of  it — a  mean  winter  temperature  of 


I- 


li;   i 
I!   ! 


64 


Klondike. 


thirty  degrees  below  zero!    The  winter  fall  of 
snow  is  between  five  and  ten  feet. 

The  following  table  of  distances  on  the  over- 
land trip  will  be  found  of  interest: 

MILES 

Seattle  to  Juneau 899 

Juneau  to  Dyea 100 

Dyea  to  foot  of  canyon 7 

Foot  of  canyon  to  Sheep  Camp 6 

Sheep  Camp  to  summit ....  5 

Summit  to  head  of  Lake  Lindermann 9 

Lake  Lindermann  (length) 6 

Foot  Lake  Lindermann  to  head  Lake  Bennett 1 

Lake  Bennett  (length) 26 

Foot  Lake  Bennett  to  head  Tagish  Lake 2.7 

Tagish  Lake  (length) 16* 

Foot  Tagish  Lake  to  head  Mud  Lake 6 

Mud  Lake  (length) 20 

Foot  Mud  Lake  to  Grand  Canyon 8^ 

Grand  Canyon  to  White  Horse  Rapids 2 

White  Horse  Rapids  to  Tahkeena  River 16 

Tahkeena  River  to  head  Lake  Le  Barge 14 

Lake  Le  Barge  (length) 81 

Foot  Lake  Le  Barge  to  Hootalinqua  River 80 

Hootalinqua  River  to  Big  Salmon  River. 84 

Big  Salmon  River  to  Little  Salmon  River 87 

Little  Salmon  River  to  Five  Fingers 60 

Five  Fingers  to  Fort  Selkirk 58 

Fort  Selkirk  to  Stuart  River 118 

Stuart  River  to  Sixty-Mile 21 

Sixty-Mile  to  Dawson  City 49 

Dawson  City  to  Forty-Mile 52 

Forty-Mile  to  Fort  Cudahy 40 

Fort  Cudahy  to  Circle  City 240 


f 


i 


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t 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.  65 

The  following  tableg  ives  the  places  and  dis- 
tances when  making  the  outride  trip  by  way 
of  St.  Michael's: 

MILES 

Seattle  to  St.  Michael's 8,000 

St.  Michael's  to  Kutlik 100 

Kutlik  to  Andreafsky 125 

Andreafsky  to  Holy  Cross 135 

Holy  Cross  to  Koserofsky 5 

Koserofsky  to  Anvik 75 

Anvik  to  Nulate 225 

Nulate  to  Novikakat 145 

Novikakat  to  Tanana ...  80 

Tanana  to  Fort  Yukon 450 

Fort  Yukon  to  Circle  City. 80 

Circle  City  to  Forty-Mile 240 

Forty-Mile  to  Dawson  City 52 

From  Juneau  the  distances  to  various  points 
are  as  follows: 

MILES 

To  Haines  (Chilkat) 80 

To  head  of  canoe  navigation 106 

To  Summit  of  Chilkoot  Pass 115 

To  Lake  Lindermann  Landing 124 

To  head  of  Lake  Bennett 129 

To  boundary  line  between  British  Columbia  and 

Northwest  Territory 189 

To  foot  of  Lake  Bennett 155 

To  foot  of  Caribou  Crossing 158 

To  foot  of  Takou  Lake 175 

To  Takish  House. 179 

To  head  of  Mud  Lake 180 


66 


Klondike. 


MILES 

To  foot  of  Lake  Marsh 200 

To  head  of  canyon 325 

To  head  of  White  Horse  Rapids 228 

To  Tahkeena  River 240 

To  head  of  Lake  Le  Barge 256 

To  foot  of  Lake  Le  Barge 287 

To  Hootalinqua 320 

To  Cassiar  Bar 347 

To  Little  Sahnon  River 390 

To  Five  Fingers 451 

To  Pelly  River 510 

ToStnart  River 630 

To  Forty-Mile  Creek 750 

From  Juneau  to  Sitka  the  distance  is  160 
miles;  Juneau  to  Wrangel,  148  miles;  Juneau  to 
Seattle,  899  miles,  and  to  San  Francisco,  1,596 
miles. 


i> 


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11' 


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The'Ascent  of  Chilkoot  Pass,— Page  67. 


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A  Manual  for  Gold  /Seekers, 


67 


THE  KLONDIKE  TRAIL. 

There  are  at  least  six  routes  to  the  Klondike. 

The  first  and  easiest  is  by  steamer  from  San 
Francisco,  or  Seattle,  to  St.  Michael's  Island 
near  the  mouth  of  the  river. 

The  second  is  over  the  Chilkoot  Pass. 

The  third  crosses  the  White  Pass. 

The  fourth  leads  from  Telegraph  Creek  on  the 
Stickeen  River  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Lewis 
branch  of  the  Yukon. 

The  fifth  is  an  overland  trail  from  Edmonton 
to  the  headwaters  of  the  Pelly. 

The  sixth  is  by  water  down  the  Athabasca  and 
Mackenzie  Rivers  to  Fort  Simpson,  and  from 
thence  over  the  mountains  to  the  head  of  the 
Porcupine,  a  tributary  of  the  Yukon. 

This  route  may  be  varied  by  making  Winnipeg 
instead  of  Edmonton  the  starting  point,  and  so 
reaching  the  Athabasca  by  way  of  Lake  Winni- 
peg- 

All  will  be  found  described  in  the  following 

chapter. 
The  all-water  route,  by  way  of  the  mouth  of 


im 


T- 


I 


es 


Klondike. 


till  I 


li 


iir; 


the  Yukon,  is  a  fifteen  days'  voyage  from  Seattle 
to  St.  Michael.  One  goes  straight  out  into  the 
Pacific  toward  Japan  for  1,800  miles.  Then  one 
turns  through  Unimak  Pass  to  the  Aleutian 
Islands,  and  touches  for  a  day  at  the  port  of 
Dutch  Harbor.  Thence  one  sails  away  to  the 
North  across  Behring  Sea  and  past  the  Seal 
Islands,  800  miles  beyond,  to  the  port  of  St. 
Michael.  This  is  a  transfer  point,  and  the  end 
of  the  ocean  voyage,  At  St.  Michael,  after  a 
wait  of  anywhere  from  a  day  to  two  weeks,  grant- 
ing that  the  river  is  open,  one  may  go  aboard  a 
flat-bottomed  river  steamer  for  another  fifteen  or 
twenty  days'  voyage  up  the  Yukon. 

If  the  traveler  should  arrive  at  St.  Michael 
as  early  as  August  25,  he  would  be  almost  assured 
of  reaching  the  mines  before  cold  weather  closed 
river  navigation,  but  arriving  later  than  that  his 
chances  would  be  good  for  either  wintering  on 
the  desolate  little  island  of  St.  Michael,  or 
traveling  by  foot  and  dog  sled  the  1,900  miles  to 
the  mines  after  the  river  had  frozen  into  a  safe 
highway.  As  to  the  probabilities  of  the  ocean 
route,  a  boat  leaving  Seattle  or  San  Francisco  by 
August  10  should  make  safe  connections  at  St. 
Michael. 

As  early  as  August  1  the  New  York  Sun 
warned  its  readers  that:  "People  who  have  the 
gold  fever  do  not  realize  that  ships  and  steamers 


n" 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


69 


starting  for  St.  Michael,  except  in  few  cases, 
cannot  hope  to  get  through  to  Klondike  the  same 
year.  It  has  already  been  reported  tliat  there  is 
very  little  water  in  the  Yukon  this  year,  and  it  is 
doubtful  whether  the  regular  river  steamers  can 
get  through  before  the  winter  freeze-up.  Parties 
starting  for  the  gold  fields  in  steamers,  on  the 
decks  of  which  are  sections  of  river  boats,  cannot 
put  their  portable  craft  together  in  time,  on 
reaching  St.  Michael,  to  float  boats  and  reach 
Dawson  City  before  the  season  closes.  At  no 
season  can  gasoline  launches  be  used  to  advan- 
tage on  the  river,  except  for  transporting  goods 
part  of  the  way  up  stream." 

The  only  practical  vessel  for  river  trade  is  a 
small  flat-bottom  river  steamer  drawing  from  one 
to  two  feet  of  water,  which  can  pass  over  the 
sand  bars.  When  the  present  rush  for  St. 
Michael  is  over  a  crowd  of  fortune-seekers  will 
head  for  the  Juneau  route,  which  is  open  nearly 
all  the  year.  A  number  of  steamboats  will  be 
put  on  the  Yukon  next  summer;  twenty  are  now 
building.  At  present,  however,  there  are  but 
three  boats  plying  above  St.  Michael  on  the 
Yukon.  They  are  flat-bottomed,  stern-wheel 
boats,  such  as  are  used  on  the  Missouri  River.  A 
fourth  one  is  building.  The  two  companies  own- 
ing these  boats  having  a  monoply  on  the  supplies 
of  the  region. 


¥ 
h 


■  1, 

ii.  i 


Ms 


I*  it 


70 


Klondike, 


The  North  American  Transportation  and 
Trading  Company  run  three  steamers  from  San 
Francisco  to  Seattle,  thence  to  St.  Michael,  and 
river  boats  from  St.  Michael  up  the  Yukon 
Biver  to  Circle  City.  A  ticket  on  the  steamers 
Portland  or  Excelsior,  from  Seattle  to  Circle  City 
costs  $150,  and  it  takes  the  boats  fifteen  days  to 
make  the  trip.  This  will  not  suit  your  purpose 
if  you  want  to  start  earlier  than  May  1.  The 
last  boat  leaves  San  Francisco  on  August  30. 

"We  have  about  5,000  tons  of  provisions  on 
the  river,"  said  Louis  Sloss,  president  of  the 
company,  ''and  we  will  send  in  as  much  more  as 
possible.  It  is  impossible,  however,  to  know 
whether  there  will  be  enough  for  the  people,  for 
I  understand  that  by  the  close  of  the  open  season 
Dawson  will  have  three  or  four  times  as  many 
people  as  it  did  a  month  or  two  ago.  If  there 
are  not  enough  provisions  the  Alaska  company 
may  bo  blamed,  but  it  will  not  be  our  fault. 
Our  boats  can  carry  only  so  much,  and  if  that  is 
not  enough  it  is  not  our  fault.  We  advise  every 
one  to  travel  overland  from  Juneau,  taking  pro- 
visions with  them.  If  this  were  done  a  probable 
famine  would  be  avoided. 

"The  Excelsior  will  sail  from  here  to  St. 
Michael,  where  it  connects  with  the  river  boats 
to  Dawson.  These  river  boats  are  stern- 
wheelers,  like  the  Sacramento  river  boats,  and 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.  71 

each  of  them  tows  a  barge  loaded  with  provisions. 
The  boat  that  connects  with  the  Excelsior  will 
be  the  last  to  go  up  the  river  this  season.  It 
will  arrive  at  Dawson  early  in  September.  The 
river  usually  freezes  from  the  first  to  the  fifteenth 
of  October.  Our  boat  can  return  down  stream 
to  St.  Michael  before  the  river  closes,  but  it  can 
not  go  up  again  until  next  year.'* 

The  Excelsior  allows  150  pounds  of  baggage  to 
each  passenger  and  no  more.  The  space  is  too 
valuable  to  allow  additional  accommodations. 

The  distances  from  Seattle  by  the  ocean  route, 
according  to  Mr.  Sloss,  are: 

MILES 

To  St.  Michael 2,850 

"  Circle  City 4,350 

"  Forty-Mile 4,600 

"  Klondike 4,650 

Five  out  of  every  six  miners,  however,  that 
start  for  the  Yukon  gold  regions  before  June, 
1898,  will  probably  go  in  by  way  of  Juneau  and 
either  the  Chilkoot  or  the  White  Passes.  All 
the  first  of  the  rush  has  been  through  the 
former,  and  hundreds  of  tons  of  freight  are 
already  piled  there  aw^aiting  shipment.  Foui 
days  after  leaving  Victoria,  British  Columbia, 
you  are  at  Juneau.  You  already  begin  to  sniff 
the  placers  from  afar.    Away  off  to  the  north  are 


■»«'' 


l>  i 


72 


Klondike. 


tho  huge  white  bulwarks  which  you  must  cross 
before  you  can  reach  tlie  Ehlorado.  Between 
you  and  their  summits  are  tlie  leaguo-long  levels 
of  snow,  and  cold  Nature's  white  death  rose. 
You  will  find  Juneau  a  strange  little  town,  damp, 
half-frozen  and  huddled  close  to  the  mouth  of 
an  island  bay.  The  queer  little  houses  are  dis- 
maying. The  strange-looking  Chilkats  walk 
about  peering  from  beneath  their  hooded  furs. 
Fish,  not  gold,  is  their  ambition. 

Occasionally  one  appears  leading  in  leash  half 
a  dozen  wild-looking  dogs.  As  the  camel  is  the 
ship  of  tho  tropic  desert,  so  are  these  dogs  the 
little  steam  engines  of  the  Arctic. 

The  dominion  authorities  have  sent  customs 
officers  to  the  head  of  the  Lynn  Canal  and  to 
Lake  Tagish.  There  is  a  collector  at  Fort 
Cudahy,  only  fifty  miles  from  Dawson  City,  and 
these  arrangements,  backed  up  by  a  strong  force 
of  police,  arc  considered  ample  for  the  protection 
of  revenue  just  now. 

The  greatest  question  of  all  is  one  of  corumu- 
nication.  It  is  reported  that  a  pack  trail  exists 
for  twenty  of  the  eighty  miles  which  separates 
the  coast  from  the  first  post  to  be  established  at 
GO  degrees  of  north  latitude  in  undisputed  Brit- 
ish territory.  If  so,  -i  )  irrow-guage  railway  can 
be  built  where  iher'3  is  a  pack  trail.  Tho  cost 
would  not  bo  gieat,  and  if  cars  could  be  hauled 


A  Manual  /or  Gold  Seel'ers. 


7:1 


twice  u  (lay  over  the  nioiuitains  facing  the  const, 
ti  troincjidoua  obstacle  would  be  overcome;  be- 
(;aiise  in  winter  it  is  impossible  to  cross  tlu! 
mountains  except  at  tbe  risk  of  life,  and  to  l)e 
caugbt  in  a  storm  would  be  fatal.  Tbe  mounted 
police  force  will  be  increased  from  20  to  100. 

Mounted  police  posts  Avill  be  established  at 
distances  of  fifty  miles  apart  up  to  Fort  Selkirk. 
These  will  be  used  to  open  up  a  winter  road, 
over  which  monthly  mails  will  bo  sent  by  dog 
trains.  If  possible  a  telegraph  line  will  be  con- 
structed over  the  mountains  from  the  head  of 
the  Lynn  Canal  to  tlie  first  post.  By  the  present 
method  of  transportation  over  the  pass,  by  horse 
and  Indian  packing,  it  is  estimated  that  it  will 
require  six  months  to  get  the  present  accumula- 
tion out  of  the  way,  to  say  nothing  of  that  now 
daily  piling  up  at  Dyea.  The  distance  over  to 
the  divide  is  thirty  miles,  and  the  ordinary  outfit 
of  the  miner  is  1,H00  pounds,  three  days  being 
consumed  in  making  a  round  trip.  Two  hun- 
dred pounds  is  a  load  for  a  pack  animal,  while 
the  liidians  carry  from  75  to  150  pounds  apiece. 
There  are  now  200  Indians  and  JJOO  horses  en- 
gaged in  packing  over  this  trail,  assisted  by 
1,000  miners,  and  icnderfeet. 

It  is  sugf^ested  that  army  officers  or  good 
road  engineers  miglit  find  an  easy  solution  by 
organizing  the  entire  gang,  and  constructing  a 


74 


Klondike. 


first-class  wagon  road,  a  feat  that  could  be  ac- 
complished in  less  than  thirty  days. 

One  correspondent  writes:  "There  is  plenty  of 
good  prospecting  ground  for  years  to  come,  but 
it  is  better  to  go  about  it  in  a  systematic  manner 
than  to  rush  ofE  at  half-cock.  As  to  reaching 
the  diggings  by  the  way  of  Dyea,  I  have  to  say 
this:  I  will  go  in  that  way  in  the  spring,  and  by 
using  a  sled  carry  1,000  pounds  of  supplies, 
whereas  the  men  who  are  now  attempting  that 
route  will  have  a  hard  time  to  get  in  with  250 
pounds.  You  see  in  the  spring  all  the  gulches 
from  Dyea  to  Lake  Lindermann  are  filled  with 
snow  and  ice.  You  can  drag  your  sled  over 
them  easily.  At  present  you  must  pack  your 
goods  or  hire  Indians. 

* 'These  Indians  are  sharp  and  will  get  white 
men  to  bidding  against  each  other.  The  man 
who  pays  the  highest  will  secure  their  services. 
Already  the  Indians  have  run  the  price  per 
pound  up  to  twenty-five  cents  and  more.  After 
you  reach  Lake  Lindermann  you  build  a  raft  of 
poles  and  push  along  to  its  end;  then  you  have  a 
portage  of  a  couple  of  miles  before  you  reach 
Lake  Bennett.  Here  you  want  a  boat;  but  if 
you  think  you  will  get  it  easily  you  may  bo 
greatly  mistaken.  The  timber  is  small;  it  is 
hard  work  to  get  a  tree  that  will  produce  60  feet, 
and  you  need  about  350  feet." 


.'/' 


iu.dnni*^'^'^'^'^'"^'^^^-'"'^ '"" 


A  Manual  for  Gold  /Seekers. 


75 


In  approaching  Juneau  the  vessel  is  often  sub- 
jected to  the  tierce  winds  which  sweep  down  the 
valley  of  the  Takou  Kiver.  If  there  is  a  strong 
north  or  northwest  wind  it  comes  like  a  demon 
roaring  out  from  the  Takou,  lashing  the  water 
into  foam  in  its  rage,  and  tossing  volumes  of 
spray  clear  over  the  top  of  Grand  Island.  When 
the  steamer  has  come  around  to  the  head  of  the 
island  it  takes  the  scow  in  tow,  and  in  about 
twenty  hours  from  the  time  of  leaving  it  enters 
the  mouth  of  the  Dyea  Kiver  near  Chilkoot,  and 
the  salt  water  journey  is  ended. 

Here  on  a  sandpit  about  a  mile  below  Healy  & 
Wilson's  trading  posts,  the  outfits  are  taken 
from  the  scow  and  piled  upon  the  beach.  Each 
man  must  look  out  for  himself  now;  the  guar- 
dianship of  your  baggage  by  any  carrying  com- 
pany is  ended.  Juneau  is  nearly  a  hundred 
miles  behind  you.  Immediately  in  the  fore- 
ground is  the  ranch  and  store  owned  by  Iloaly 
&  Wilson,  and  beyond  in  their  mantles  of  snow 
rise  the  coast  mountains,  cold  and  severe,  striking 
a  feeling  of  dread  into  many  a  heart;  and  beyond 
this  frozen  barrier  there  stretches  away  hundreds 
of  miles  the  vast  country  of  the  Yukon,  an  ex- 
panse so  wide  that  it  is  limited  only  by  the  ox- 
tent  of  man's  endurance.  But  haste  must  be 
made  in  the  sorting  of  outfits  and  getting  them 
above  tide  water.     Most  miners  camp  near  by  in 


m » 


76 


Klondike. 


\l 


the  edge  of  the  woods,  perhaps  taking  one  or 
two  meals  at  the  trading  posts,  which  can  be  had 
at  the  price  of  fifty  cents  each,  others  find  both 
board  and  lodging  there  until  they  are  ready  to 
push  on. 

Now  for  the  first  time  the  miner  begins  to 
realize  that  the  proper  outfit  for  a  trip  of  this 
kind  is  the  result  of  experience,  and  the  longer 
he  has  been  in  this  country,  and  the  more  thor- 
oughly he  knows  it,  just  so  much  more  care  is 
used  in  the  selection  and  packing  of  his  outfit. 
A  careful  and  thorough  examination  should  be 
made  to  see  that  nothing  has  been  lost  or  for- 
gotten. Here  he  bids  farewell  to  hotels,  restau- 
raunts,  steamboats  and  stores — in  fact  to  civiliza- 
tion, and  is  a  "free  man"  to  pursue  his  course 
how  and  where  he  will;  beyond  all  conventional- 
ities of  society,  and  practically  beyond  all  law, 
so  far  as  it  is  the  outgrowth  of  organized  govern- 
ments. 

Going  up  the  Dyea  Eiver,  five  miles  on  the  ice 
will  bring  one  to  the  mouth  of  the  canyon. 
Here  in  the  woods  a  comfortable  camp  can  be 
easily  arranged.  The  tent  is  pitched  on  top  of 
the  snow,  the  poles  and  pins  being  pushed  down 
into  it.  While  some  are  busily  engaged  in  build- 
ing a  fire  and  making  a  bed,  the  best  cook  of  the 
party  prepares  the  supper. 

If  you  have  no  stove  a  camp  fire  must  be  built. 


:i^iaiiiiiM«i«8«ii*^^ 


.,a»M<i*W**»»««^' 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


11 


either  on  an  exposed  point  of  rock  or  in  a  hole 
dug  down  in  the  snow;  if  you  have  a  stove  it  can 
be  quickly  arranged  on  a  "grindstone"  inside 
the  tent,  the  grindstone  consisting  of  three 
poles  some  six  or  eight  feet  long,  and  laid  in  the 
snow  on  which  the  stove  is  placed. 

The  heat  from  the  stove  will  soon  melt  a  hole 
underneath,  but  there  will  be  enough  firm  snow 
under  the  ends  to  hold  it  up.  For  the  bed  hem- 
lock brush  is  cut,  and  laid  on  the  snow  to  the 
depth  of  a  foot  or  more,  and  this  is  covered  with 
a  large  square  of  canvas  on  which  the  blankets 
and  robes  are  put.  When  furnished  it  forms  a 
natural  spring  bed,  which  will  afford  grateful 
rest  after  hauling  a  load  all  day. 

Dyea  Canyon  is  about  two  miles  long,  and 
perhaps  fifty  feet  wide.  A  boat  cannot  go 
through  it,  but  in  the  early  spring  miners  go 
through  on  the  ice,  bridging  with  poles  the  dan- 
gerous places  or  openings.  After  the  ice  breaks 
ap  it  is  necessary  to  go  over  the  trail  on  the  east 
side  of  the  canyon.  The  trail  was  built  by  Cap- 
tain Healy  at  his  own  expense,  but  it  is  little  used, 
as  most  miners  go  through  the  canyon  before  the 
ice  breaks  up. 

The  camping  place  beyond  the  canyon  is  a 
strip  of  woods  some  two  or  three-  miles  long, 
known  as  Pleasant  Camp.  Its  name  is  some- 
thing of  a  misnomer,  for  there  is  not  even  a  log 


78 


Klondike, 


■\ 


n. 


:l 


shanty  there;  some  woods,  however,  do  give  a 
kind  of  shelter,  and,  as  everywhere  else  along 
the  road,  there  is  plenty  of  snow. 

From  here  the  assent  is  gradual,  and  the  next 
and  last  camp  in  timber  before  crossing  the  sum- 
mit is  known  as  Sheep  Camp.  This  is  at  the 
edge  of  the  timber,  and  no  wood  for  a  fire  can  be 
gotten  any  higher  up.  This  camp  is  not  usually 
broken  until  all  of  the  outfit  has  been  placed  on 
the  summit.  When  the  weather  is  favorable 
everything  except  what  is  necessary  for  a  camp 
is  pushed  a  mile  and  a  half  to  Stone  House,  a 
clump  of  big  rocks,  and  then  to  what  is  called 
the  Second  Bench. 

Care  must  be  exercised  in  soft  weather,  or 
everything  is  liable  to  be  swept  from  the  bench 
by  a  snowslide  or  an  avalanche,  and  should  this 
happen  the  Indians  will  prove  of  great  assistance 
in  recovering  part  of  the  things.  With  long 
slender  rods,  tipped  with  steel,  they  feel  down 
in  the  snow  and  locate  most  of  the  large  pack- 
ages, which,  without  them  and  their  feel-rods  one 
would  never  find. 

At  Sheep  Camp  the  summit  towers  above  you 
about  3,500  feet,  but  the  pass  is  some  500  feet 
lower.  No  further  progress  can  be  made  until  a 
clear  day,  and  sometimes  the  weather  continues 
bad  for  two  or  three  weeks,  the  mountain  top 
hidden  in  thick  clouds,  and  icy  winds  hurling 


..t^itjjrti.HiMit^vi';.' 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


79 


the  new-fallen  snow  in  every  direction,  or  driving 
the  sleet  in  tlie  face  of  any  one  bold  enough  to 
stir  out  of  camp  and  peep  up  at  that  almost 
precipitous  wall  of  snow  and  ice.  But  sunshine 
comes  at  last,  and  the  wind  grows  still. 

Now  comes  the  tug  of  war  to  get  the  outfit  to 
the  summit.  For  600  feet  every  step  must  be  cut 
in  the  ice,  and  so  steep  is  that  that  a  person  with 
a  pack  on  his  back  must  constantly  bend  forward 
to  maintain  his  equilibrium.  The  first  load 
planted  on  the  summit  of  the  pass,  a  shovel  is 
stuck  in  the  snow  to  mark  the  spot;  then  back 
for  another  pack,  and  fortunate  is  he  who  gets 
his  whole  outfit  up  in  a  single  day. 

Indians  may  be  hired  to  do  the  packing,  and 
their  rates  vary  slightly,  but  the  regular  price 
has  been  five  dollars  a  hundredweight  from  the 
second  bench  to  the  summit,  or  fifteen  cents  a 
pound  from  Healy  &  Wilson's  to  the  lakes. 
These  prices  have  been  shaded  a  little  the  past 
season,  and  some  outfits  were  packed  over  the 
lake  at  thirteen  cents  a  pound;  now  the  rates  are 
twenty-five  cents  a  pound.  The  reason  for  the 
previous  cut  in  price  was  that  many  miners  in- 
sisted on  doing  their  own  packing,  and  that  their 
work  was  much  assisted  by  a  tramway  device, 
which  was  operated  last  season  with  more  or  less 
success  by  one  Peterson,  whose  inventive  genius 
led  him  to  believe  that  a  simple  arrangement  of 


m 


» 


M 


80 


Klondike. 


ropes  and  pulleys  would  greatly  help  in  getting 
outfits  up  the  steeper  places. 

A  small  log  is  buried  in  the  snow,  and  to  this 
dead  man  a  pulley  is  attached  through  which  a 
long  rope  is  passed,  to  the  lower  end  of  which  a 
Yukon  sleigh  is  attached,  and  the  empty  box  on 
the  sled  fastened  to  the  upper  end  of  the  rope  is 
then  filled  with  snow  until  its  weight  becomes 
sufficient  to  take  it  down  the  incline,  thus  drag- 
ging the  other  one  up. 

The  snow  was  found  too  light,  but  with  three 
or  four  men  as  ballast  in  place  of  snow  it  worked 
well,  and  saved  a  good  deal  of  packing.  When 
the  last  load  has  reached  the  summit,  and  the 
miner  stands  beside  his  outfit  looking  down  to- 
ward the  ocean,  only  twenty  miles  away,  he  can 
feel  that  his  journey  has  fairly  begun,  and  as  he 
turns  he  sees  the  descending  slope  melting  into 
the  great  valley  of  the  Yukon. 

The  descent  for  the  first  half-mile  is  steep, 
then  a  gradual  slope  to  Lake  Lindermann,  some 
ten  miles  away.  But  there  is  little  time  for  rest- 
ing and  none  for  dreaming,  as  the  edge  of  the 
timber  where  the  camp  must  be  made  is  seven 
miles  from  the  summit.  Taking  the  camping 
outfit  and  sufficient  provisions  for  four  or  five 
days,  the  sleigh  is  loaded,  the  rest  of  the  outfit 
is  packed  up  or  buried  in  the  snow,  the  shovels 
being  stuck  up  to  mark  the  spot. 


1 


"•ilWiirlWia*T««i*t-V^-''*^""""'"^'''-^''*^ 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


81 


This  precaution  is  necessary,  for  storms  como 
sntldenly,  and  rage  with  fury  along  these  moun- 
tain crests.  The  first  lialf-mile  or  more  is  made 
in  quick  time,  then  over  six  or  seven  feet  of 
snow  the  prospector  drags  his  sleigh  to  where 
there  is  wood  for  his  camp  fire.  At  times  this  is 
no  easy  task,  especially  if  the  weather  be  stormy, 
for  the  winds  blow  tlie  new-fallen  snow  about  so 
as  to  completely  cover  the  track  made  by  the 
man  but  little  ahead.  At  other  times,  during 
the  fine  weather,  and  with  a  hard  crust  on  the 
snow,  it  is  only  a  pleasant  run  from  the  pass 
down  to  the  first  camp  in  the  Yukon  Basin. 

The  rest  of  the  outfit  having  been  brought  from 
the  summit,  the  next  move  is  to  Lake  Linder- 
mann,  about  three  miles  distant.  The  route 
now  lies  seven  miles  across  the  lake  to  its  outlet, 
down  the  outlet  three  or  four  miles  in  a  north- 
easterly direction  to  Lake  Bennett,  down  to  the 
foot  of  this  lake,  twenty-five  miles,  then  by  the 
river  four  or  five  miles,  until  the  Takou  Lake  is 
reached.  The  lake  is  some  twenty  miles  long, 
and  empties  in  a  mud  lake  through  an  outlet 
three  miles  long.  Mud  Lake  is  about  ten  miles 
long,  and  at  the  foot  of  it  open  water  is  usually 
found  in  April. 

Open  water  will  probably  be  passed  before 
reaching  this  point  in  the  rivers  connecting  the 
lakes,  and  firm  ice  at  the  sides  afEor'^s  good  sled- 


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82 


Klondike. 


ding,  but  at  the  foot  of  Mnd  Lake  a  raft  or  boat 
must  be  built.  Dry  timber  can  be  found  along 
the  shores  with  which  to  build  a  raft,  which  will 
take  everything  to  the  Lewis  Eiver  Canyon, 
about  forty  miles  to  the  northwest. 

The  course  down  the  lakes  has  been  much  in 
the  form  of  a  horseshoe,  and  now  bears  to  the 
west  instead  of  the  east. 

Before  reaching  the  canyon,  a  high  cut  bank 
on  the  right  hand  side  will  give  warning  that  it 
is  close  at  hand.  Good  river  men  have  run  the 
canyon  safely  even  with  loaded  rafts,  but  it  is 
much  surer  to  make  a  landing  on  the  right 
side  and  portage  the  outfit  around  the  canyon, 
three-quarters  of  a  mile,  and  run  the  raft  through 
empty.  The  sameness  of  the  scenery  on  ap- 
proaching the  canyon  is  so  marked  that  many 
parties  have  gotten  into  the  canyon  before  they 
were  aware  of  it. 

Below  the  canyon  are  ihe  White  Horse  Rapids 
— a  bad  piece  of  water — but  the  raft  can  be  lined 
down  the  right-hand  side  until  near  the  White 
Horse,  three  miles  below.  This  is  a  box  canyon 
about  a  hundred  yards  long  and  fifty  in  width, 
a  chute  through  which  the  water  of  the  river, 
which  is  nearly  600  feet  wide  just  above,  rushes 
with  maddening  force.  But  few  have  ever 
attempted  to  run  it,  and  four  of  them  have  been 
drowned. 


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A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


83 


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Of  two  men  who  made  the  attempt  in  May,  '88, 
nothing  was  found  save  a  bundle  of  blankets. 
Below  the  White  Horse  another  raft  is  built,  and 
the  journey  continued  seventy  miles  to  Lake  Le 
Barge.     This  usually  requires  three  days. 

Aier  entering  the  lake  solid  ice  is  found  per- 
haps a  mile  from  the  inlet.  Camp  is  made  on 
the  shore,  and  as  the  ice  gets  soft  most  of  the 
sledding  is  done  in  the  early  morning,  it  being 
sufficiently  light  in  May  to  start  soon  after  mid- 
night. This  lake  is  about  forty-five  miles  long, 
and  there  is  an  island  about  midway.  Little 
snow  will  be  found  here  late  in  April,  but  it  will 
be  all  glare  ice. 

After  camping  on  the  island,  a  day's  journey 
will  make  the  foot  of  the  lake,  and  the  sledding 
is  completed.  If  one  expects  to  stay  in  the 
country  the  sled  should  not  be  thrown  away, 
however,  as  it  will  prove  useful  later  on. 

A  comfortable  camp  should  be  made  here,  and 
the  building  of  a  boat  commenced.  This  will  re- 
quire from  seven  to  ten  days,  and  the  method  of 
preparing  lumber  is  novel  to  all  who  are  unused 
to  frontier  life.  The  trees  selected  should  be 
sound  and  straight,  and  twelve  inches  through 
the  butt.  A  saw  pit  about  six  feet  high  is  built 
near  the  tree,  and  the  tree  felled  and  cut  into 
logs  about  twenty-five  feet  long.  When  all  is 
ready,  neighbors  are  invited  to  the  rolling  bee  to 


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Klondike. 


help  in  placing  the  logs  on  the  pit.  To  make 
good  lumber  requires  a  sharp  saw  and  experi- 
ence, besides  hard  work. 

To  avoid  trouble  at  this  time,  the  man  in  the 
pit  should  keep  his  mouth  closed. 

After  the  pit  is  leveled  and  the  log  peeled,  a 
square  is  made  on  the  smaller  end,  and  an  exact 
counterpart  on  the  other;  the  log  is  then  lined 
both  above  and  below  and  squared  or  slabbed, 
then  it  is  lined  for  the  boards,  an  eighth  of  an 
inch  always  being  allowed  for  the  saw  cut. 
After  the  boards  are  sawed,  the  boat  is  built, 
calked  and  pitched,  oars  and  poles  made,  and 
the  journey  resumed.  Going  down  the  Lewis 
River,  the  Hootalinqua,  Big  Salmon  and  Little 
Salmon  Rivers  are  passed  on  the  right  before 
reaching  the  Fiv3  Fingers.  Here  four  large 
buttes  stand  like  giant  sentinels  of  stone  to  dis- 
pute your  further  ingress  into  the  country;  the 
water,  in  five  passages,  runs  swiftly  between;  the 
right-hand  passage  is  the  only  one  which  is  prac- 
ticable, and  though  the  water  is  swift,  it  is  safe 
if  the  boat  be  kept  in  the  center. 

A  few  moments  of  3trong  pulling  and  careful 
management  and  the  boat  is  rapidly  approaching 
the  Reef  Rapids,  three  miles  below.  Here  again 
the  right-hand  side  insures  safety,  and  having 
gone  through  them  the  last  dangerous  water  is 
passed.    Next  comes  the  Pelly  River,  and  the 


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junction  of  the  Pelly  and  Lewis  from  the  Yukon 
proper.  At  this  point  the  first  trading  post  is 
reached.  This  is  known  as  Harper's,  and  is  510 
miles  distant  from  Juneau. 

Continuing  the  journey,  Stuart  River  is 
passed  on  the  right;  then  the  White  River  on 
the  left,  so  named  on  account  of  its  milky- 
looking  water;  the  next  tributary  on  the  same 
side  is  Sixty-Mile  Creek,  so  called  on  account  of 
its  being  sixty  miles  above  Fort  Reliance.  A 
hundred  miles  below,  on  the  left  side,  is  Forty- 
Mile  Creek,  forty  miles  below  is  Fort  Reliance. 
Here  the  Yukon  is  over  two  miles  in  width,  and 
on  the  upper  bank  of  Forty-Mile  Creek  is  the 
principal  trading  post  of  the  interior.  This  is 
the  starting  point  for  all  the  mines,  and  is  750 
miles  from  Dyea. 

An  outfit  weighs,  as  we  have  said,  some  1,800 
pounds;  to  move  this  in  winter  is  almost  impos- 
sible. The  snow  is  dry  and  frosty,  and  a  sleigh 
pulls  very  hard  over  it.  The  best  a  man  could 
hope  to  do  would  be  to  haul  200  pounds,  and 
with  this  he  could  make  about  fifteen  miles  a 
day.  Say  he  starts  from  a  given  point,  takes 
200  pounds  of  his  freight  for  seven  and  a  half 
miles,  and  then  comes  back  after  his  other 
stuff,  thus  making  his  round  trip  for  the  day  fif- 
teen miles;  and  do  not  forget  that  the  total  dis- 
tance from  Dyea  or  Skaguay  to  Dawson  City  is 
more  than  500  miles. 


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Klondike. 


If  a  person  should  have  the  misfortune  to  be 
frozen  in,  ho  should  go  ashore  at  ">nce,  build  a 
small  cabin  and  prospect  any  small  creeks  in  the 
vicinity.  This,  of  course,  is  on  the  supposition 
that  he  is  not  alone,  but  is  a  member  of  a  party 
of  several.  A  man  should  bear  in  mind  that, 
as  to  the  river  itself,  it  never  freezes  over  smooth. 
The  ice  forms  in  great  rough  masses  which 
render  travel  impossible.  Navigation  ceases  by 
October  15. 

The  following  appeared  in  an  Alaskan  news- 
paper: "The  miner  of  Alaska  looks  to  the  Yukon 
country  for  a  reproduction  of  the  scenes  of  the 
Cassiar  and  Cariboo  districts.  That  along  that 
river  and  its  numerous  tributaries  there  are  mil- 
lions of  dollars  hidden  in  the  sands  or  lockecl 
within  the  mountain's  rock-bound  walls,  there 
can  be  no  doubt.  For  several  years  the  more  ad- 
venturesome of  our  placer  miners  have  been  go- 
ing to  that  Mecca  of  the  North — Forty-Mile 
Creek.  Many  of  them  have  returned  after  one 
or  two  seasons'  sojourn,  none  the  richer,  save  in 
experience;  others  have  struck  it  rich,  and  made 
for  themselves  snug  little  fortunes,  and  a  thou- 
sand others  are  wintering  there  now,  hoping  that 
next  summer  may  bring  them  the  good  luck,  for 
which  they  have  so  long  waited. 

"Day  after  day,  and  season  after  season,  the 
miners  toil  cheerf  viUy  at  the  bars  and  old  water- 


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A  Manual  f  07'  Gold  /Seekers. 


87 


courses  of  the  creeks  and  rivers  which  form  part 
of  the  Yukon  system,  and  every  year  sees  their 
numbers  increased,  and  every  fall  a  large  quan- 
tity of  gold  finds  its  way  to  the  mints,  and  every 
spring  the  Alaskan  steamers  bring  several  hun- 
dreds to  join  the  fortune  hunters  of  the  interior, 
Forty -Mile  being  the  objective  point  of  all  going 
to  the  Yukon  gold  fields.  Juneau  is  the  outfit- 
ting point,  the  head  of  regular  steamboat  navi- 
gation during  the  winter  and  spring  months. 
Here  all  persons  leave  the  steamers  which  have 
brought  them  from  Sound  ports,  or  Victoria. 
The  town  is  well  supplied  with  hotels  and  res- 
taurants, where  good  board  can  be  had  for  a  dol- 
lar a  day,  lodgings  extra.  Here  outfits  are  pur- 
chased for  the  journey  in,  and  they  niust  be  se- 
lected and  put  up  with  care,  for  more  than  700 
miles  stretch  of  weary  length  between  Juneau 
and  Forty-Mile. 

''The  market  here  offers  everything  necessary  of 
good  quality  and  at  reasonable  prices.  The  mer- 
chants understand  the  trade,  and  will  select  and 
put  up  an  outfit,  large  or  small.  Unless  a  man 
knows  what  he  wants  the  best  thing  he  can  do  is 
to  name  the  price  he  can  afford  to  pay,  and  leave 
the  selection  to  the  merchant.  The  cost  depends 
upon  the  purse  of  the  buyer,  and  while  a  few 
have  started  in  with  as  small  as  $25  outfits,  $100 
would  be  a  far  safer  figure,  and  very  many  greatly 
exceed  this. 


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Klondike. 


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'Among  the  principal  things  is  a  Yukon  sleigh, 
which  is  made  here  from  a  model  which  has 
proved  to  be  the  best  fitted  for  the  work  re- 
quired; an  ax,  saw  and  nails  for  building  a 
boat;  warm  and  serviceable  clothing,  including 
gum  boots,  blankets  and  provisions  for  five 
months  at  least. 

*.*The  valley  of  the  Yukon  may  be  reached 
from  tfuneau  by  four  different  routes,  crossing 
the  coast  range  of  mountains  by  as  many  passes 
— the  Dyea  or  Chilkoot  Pass,  the  Chilkat, 
Moore's  or  the  White  Pass,  and  Takou.  As  the 
Chilkoot  is  the  only  pass  used  to  any  extent,  it 
is  this  route  the  miner  will  select.  [Since  this 
was  written  White  Pass  has  been  much  improved 
— Ed.].  From  Juneau  to  the  summit  of  the 
Chilkoot  Pass  is  a  distance  of  115  miles.  Small 
steamers  ply  irregularly  between  here  and  Dyea, 
the  head  of  navigation,  100  miles  northwest 
of  Juneau.  During  the  early  spring  these  boats 
usually  sail  a  day  or  two  after  the  arrival  of 
the  mail  steamers  from  the  Sound.  The  trip  in 
good  weather  is  made  in  twelve  hours  if  there  is 
no  towing  to  be  done,  and  the  regular  fare  is 
$10,  each  passenger  furnishing  his  own  blankets 
and  provisions. 

**If  the  party  is  a  la^ge  one  with  considerable 
baggage  a  scow  is  loaded  with  the  miners'  out- 
fii'is;  if  the  tides  are  high  the  boat  sometimes  goes 


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over  the  bar  at  the  head  of  Douglas  Island,  thus 
saving  nearly  twenty  miles  of  travel,  besides 
avoiding  the  rough  waters  of  the  Takou.  If  the 
tides  are  not  high  the  scow  may  be  towed  over 
the  bar  by  the  little  tug  Julia,  and  the  steam- 
boat will  take  its  course  around  the  lower  end  of 
Douglas." 

Thomas  Martin,  of  Jermyn,  Lackawanna 
County,  Pennsylvania,  writes  of  the  trip  in  by  way 
of  Dyea: 


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'I  arrived  here,  Klondike,  May  18,  this  morn- 
ing about  10  o'clock,  and  have  been  busy  all  day 
getting  things  from  the  boat,  and  putting  out 
cash  and  grub  up  in  trees  out  of  the  way  of  the 
dogs.  I  wrote  my  last  from  Pleasant  Camp. 
From  there  the  hard  work  began.  To  Sheep 
Camp — on^  camp  from  Pleasant  Camp — it  was 
mostly  uphill.  It  was  hard  work  for  a  man  to 
pull  a  hundred  pounds  of  flour  or  anything  else 
up  some  of  the  hills.  It  took  us  about  five  or  six 
days  to  get  our  outfit  to  the  foot  of  the  summio. 
Then  we  had  it  packed  over  when  a  terrible 
storm  was  raging.  But  there  was  no  turning 
back.  So  we  loaded  half  of  it  on  our  sleds  and 
started  for  Lake  Lindermann,  about  fifteen 
miles.  "We  reached  there  all  right,  and  the  fol- 
lowing morning  started  back  for  the  summit 
again  for  our  otl^er  load,  which  we  had  to  bring 
through  a  canyon  about  a  mile  long.  Next 
morning  we  started  down  Lake  Lindermann  with 
set  sail.  "VVe  could  hardly  see,  but  v.e  had  plenty 
of  wind  in  our  favor.    It  made  us  hustle  and  we 


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soon  got  across  to  camp.  The  following  day  we 
pulled  our  load  to  Lake  Bennett,  and  next  morn- 
ing started  at  3  o'clock  to  cross  the  lake.  We 
did  not  get  very  far  before  we  struck  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  of  soft  ice.  Here  we  had  some  hard 
work,  but  we  helped  others  and  they  helped  us. 
We  traveled  about  twenty  miles  that  day,  and 
next  day  reached  the  foot  of  Lake  Bennett. 
Here  we  had  a  terrible  gale  of  wind.  I  had  to 
pull  down  the  sail  and  row.  We  made  two  trips 
across  Caribou  Crossing  next  day,  and  camped 
on  Taka  Lake.  We  had  fair  traveling  then  till 
we  camped  on  Marsh  Lake  to  build  our  boat. 
At  Caribou  we  had  been  joined  by  three  other 
men,  and  we  decided  to  bui)d  a  boat  together. 
But  then  the  tronble  be^an.  If  Noah  had  as 
much  trouble  in  proportion  to  build  his  ark  as 
we  had  to  build  our  boat,  I  should  feel  sorry  for 
him.  But  we  got  there,  and  when  we  started  it 
was  with  a  boat  twenty-three  feet  long,  and  five 
feet  wide  in  the  middle.  It  was  built  to  carry 
six  men  and  our  outfit  of  3,500  pounds.  We 
pulled  it  to  the  water's  edge — about  fifteen  miles 
— calked  and  pitched  it,  and  started  down  the 
river.  Our  steersman  was  a  sailor  from  the 
steamer  Mexico.  Everything  went  all  right 
until  about  5  o'clock,  when  we  saw  a  red  flag  and 
a  black  one  ahead.  We  kept  going  and  ran 
square  on  top  of  a  rock  in  the  middle  of  the  cur- 
rent. The  boat  would  not  move,  and  on  each 
side  were  about  100  feet  of  swift,  deep,  water. 
We  thought  the  boat  might  go  to  pieces  and 
drown  us  all,  but  she  stood  it  well.  After 
awhile  a  man  who  heard  us  shout  came  up  and 
asked  us  if  we  wanted  help.     He  brought  seven 


I ' . 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


91 


other  men  and  we  unloaded  our  boat  so  that  it 
floated  off  all  right. 

"We  were  then  within  a  short  distance  of  the 
canyon.  We  went  through  that  and  the  Wiiite 
Horse  Rapids  all  right,  and  had  good  luck  after. 
The  Lewis  Iliver  was  jammed  with  ice  so  we  liad 
to  camp. 

"We  reached  Lake  La  Barge  and  next  day 
started  down  through  the  soft  ice,  following  the 
other  boats.  Men  in  each  boat  were  cutting  the 
ice  and  keeping  it  back  from  smashing  things. 
The  bow  of  one  boat  touched  the  stern  of  the 
other,  so  that  the  ice  could  not  get  between. 
When  we  reached  solid  ice  we  got  the  boats  out 
of  the  water  on  the  sleds  and  started  off.  We 
went  about  a  mile  and  struck  a  current  running 
across  our  route.  We  had  to  get  the  boats  across 
this,  then  take  them  out  of  the  water  again  on 
the  other  side.  When  we  were  reaching  the  foot 
of  Lake  La  Barge  the  ice  was  getting  pretty  thin, 
and  at  last  the  stern  of  our  boat  went  through. 
We  had  to  unload  pretty  lively  and  pull  her 
ahead.  We  put  a  pole  down,  but  found  no  bot- 
tom. 

"This  was  nothing  compared  with  our  experi- 
ence on  the  river  below  Lake  La  Barge.  I  never 
knew  much  about  riding  a  boat,  but  in  this  case 
it  was  row  or  swim  for  about  forty  miles.  It  was 
the  worst  river  I  ever  saw.  It  was  full  of  rocks 
and  twice  we  scraped  our  boat.  We  ran  the 
Hootalina  Sapids  next.  The  river  was  low  and 
that  made  it  worse.  W^e  had  to  stop  day  after 
day  for  the  ice  to  go  down  ahead  of  us.  We 
passed  the  Five  Fingers  Rapids  in  safety,  and 
also  the  Rink  Rapids.    After  that  we  went  all 


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right  and  landed  here  at  Klondike,  which,  if  the 
men  are  tolling  the  truth,  is  the  richest  creek 
in  the  world. 

"I  have  been  away  to  the  diggings  two  days 
and  now  I  am  tired  with  tramping.  It  was  rain- 
ing when  we  startod  for  the  diggings  with  a  pack 
apiece  on  a  trail  on  which  we  could  walk  about  a 
mile  an  hour.  We  had  to  cross  the  Klondike  in 
a  boat;  fare,  81  each.  A  little  further  we 
reached  another  river  too  high  to  ford.  We 
felled  a  tree  and  floated  over  on  that.  Then  we 
struck  the  Overland,  which  is  in  some  parts 
water  to  your  knees,  or  even  over  head.  We 
made  the  acquaintance  of  some  men  on  the  trail, 
and  they  advised  us  to  go  back.  I  said  *No,' 
having  got  so  far  we  were  going  all  the  way. 
By  and  by  we  reached  a  new  cabin  not  yet 
occupied.  We  stayed  here  and  cooked  sup- 
per. Afte^  supper  we  kept  on  till  9  o'clock, 
then  stayed  all  night  with  three  other  men  in 
oi\Q  of  the  cabins.  Next  morning  we  started  to 
find  some  of  Dick  Rosemorey's  old  friends  who 
had  come  in  early.  We  kept  finding  them  right 
along.  They  had  rich  claims,  but  these  were 
winter  diggings.  We  kept  pushing  on,  and  in  the 
afternoon  reached  Frank  Belcher's  claim  on  El 
Dorado.  It  is  very  rich,  one  of  the  best.  We 
stayed  there  all  night.  Frank  told  us  not  to  be 
in  any  hurry,  as  we  could  get  all  the  work  we 
wanted  in  a  little  while.  Next  morning  the  first 
man  we  asked  gave  us  work  on  summer  diggings 
as  soon  as  we  can  get  back  to  Dawson  Pond  and 
get  another  pack,  which  takes  two  days.  The 
wages  are  all  right. 

*' There  is  a  sawmill  here  and  lots  of  places 


i 


1 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


98 


for  selling  whisky — fifty  cents  a  drink.  One 
man  is  bringing  200  barrels.  He  will  have  no 
trouble  to  sell  it.  I  have  not  seen  any  big  game 
myself,  but  there  has  been  lots  of  moose  meat 
brought  into  camp.  They  said  tha^  »uen  were 
starving  in  this  country,  but  it  is  n^         " 

Joaquin  Miller  has  written  to  the  San  Fran- 
Cisco  Examiner  that  the  hardships  of  the  trip 
have  been  much  exaggerated.    He  said: 

"Now,  I  am  not  going  to  take  the  responsibil- 
ity of  advising  any  one  to  come  on  this  year. 
But  of  two  things  I  am  certain,  from  what  I 
have  found  out  since  coming  to  the  Sound. 
First,  there  is  no  possible  chance  for  a  famine  in 
the  mines;  and  second,  the  dangers  and  hard- 
ships and  cost  of  getting  there  have  been  greatly 
exaggerated.  This  is  no  new  thing  in  the  gold 
discoveries,  and  is  only  a  bit  of  human  nature. 
You  see,  the  discoverers  and  those  who  come  in 
early  want  to  hold  and  keep  all  in  sight  till  they 
can  get  their  friends  in.  1  am  not  going  to  say 
anything  unkind  of  the  dauntless  men  in  the 
Klondike.  I  only  know  the  men  who  discovered 
the  Salmon  Kiver  mines  in  Idaho  sent  out  run- 
ners and  posted  notices  to  keep  people  from  rush- 
ing in.  And  we  used  the  very  same  arguments 
— starvation  and  intolerable  hardships.  But  no- 
body starv  1,  and,  while  a  few  perished  in  the 
snow,  it  must  be  remombered  that  men  die  from 
indigestion  as  well  as  from  hunger.  In  line  with 
this  truth,  I  give  the  following  from  a  respon- 
sible friend's  letter,  written  lately  from  Dawson: 


'in 


■p 


41 


94 


Klondike. 


m 


!i     II 


11 


m 


**  'The  hardships  of  the  trip  are  much  exag- 
gerated and  -misunderstood  by  the  outside  world. 
Of  course,  on  the  trails  from  Dyea  to  Lake  Lin- 
dermann,  a  man's  patience,  nerve  and  strength 
are  taxed  to  the  utmost.  Just  from  the  ship, 
stores,  offices  aud  homes  of  luxury,  or  at  least 
comfort,  many  find  their  strength  almost  un- 
equal to  the  occasion;  some  have  been  seen  sit- 
ting on  their  burdens,  weeping,  swearing,  or  in 
silent  despair. 

"  'There  is  no  sickness  to  speak  of,  and  few  ac- 
cidents on  the  trail.  Everybody  is  well  and  glad 
they  are  here.  The  mines  are  probably  the  rich- 
est, and  cover  a  larger  field  than  any  ever  dis- 
covered before.  The  gold  is  coarse,  nuggets 
going  as  high  as  $300.  Dirt  washed  out  goes  as 
high  as  $800  to  the  pan,  one  man  offering  to 
wager  he  could  pick  and  wash  out  $1,000  to  the 
pan.  Of  course,  this  i  san  exception.  El  Dorado 
Creek  so  far  has  shown  the  richest.  All  through 
Bonanza  shows  very  high.  Hundreds  of  miles 
of  unexplored  country  are  ready  for  the  pros- 
pector. The  country  is  governed  by  a  gold  com- 
missioner, and  captain  of  the  mounted  police. 
They  are  courteous  and  ad.opt  a  liberal  policy. 
The  Episcopal  and  Catholic  churches  are  estab- 
lishing missions  here.  New  enterprises  are 
springing  up  every  day.  The  saloons  predomi- 
nate. Among  the  many  questions  asked  of  those 
going  to  the  Klondike  is  the  one  of  the  dis- 
tances. By  way  of  St.  Michael  and  up  the 
Yukon,  it  is  4,996  miles  from  San  Francisco. 
To  Klondike  by  way  of  Juneau  it  is  little  more 
than  half  the  distance,  or  2,G94  miles.  From 
Juneau  to  Klondike  it  is  678  miles.' '' 


;''   il 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.  96 

Any  one  proposing  leaving  New  York  City  for 
the  Klondike  should  study  this  table: 

Pare  to  Seattle  over  the  Northern  Pacific |67.75 

Tourist  sleeper,  fare |i9.00 

Pullman  sleeper $18.00 

Meals  in  dining  car $18.00 

Tourist  meals  at  stations $9.00 

New  York  to  Seattle,  in  miles 3,160 

Number  of  days  en  route 7 

Steamer  fare,  Seattle  to  Juneau,  with  cabin  and 

meals $75.00 

Fare,  with  berth $67.50 

Miles,  Seattle  to  Juneau 1,000 

Number  of  days,  Seattle  to  Juneau 8 

Cost  of  living  in  Juneau,  per  day $3.00 

Steamboat,   up  Lynn  Canal  to  Healey's  Store, 

miles 100 

Number  of  days  to  Healey's  Store '         1 

Cost  of  complete  outfit,  with  provisions  for  one 

year $600.00 

Price  of  dog  and  sled  outfit $500.00 

Total  distance  in  miles 5,000 

Total  days  required  for  journey 90 

Best  time  to  start April  15 


■x'  iJi 


I 


While  Dyea  is  spoken  of  as  the  point  for 
which  most  boats  are  heading,  the  majority  of 
the  passengers  will  get  off  at  Skagawa,  a  few 
miles  from  Dyea  up  another  inlet.  The  pass 
from  Skagawa,  called  White  Pass,  is  now  consid- 
ered better  than  the  Chilkoot,  back  of  Dyea. 
White  Pass  is  lower,  much  work  has  been  done 


96 


Klondike. 


■•^ 


in 


;»  ! 


I";  i 


on  the  trail  and  there  is  wood  all  along  the 
route,  while  on  the  Chilkoot  Pass  route  wood 
has  to  be  carried,  if  packers  desire  a  fire  during 
the  night  necessarily  spent  on  the  trail. 

Mr.  C.  H.  Wilkinson,  Canadian  representative 
of  the  British  Yukon  Company,  confirms  the  re- 
port that  the  White  Pass  pack  trail  over  the 
mountains  was  opened  for  travel  on  July  16.  It 
is  a  little  east  of  the  Chilkoot  Pass  route.  Not 
only  was  White  Pass  opened  for  pack  travel,  he 
said,  but  the  company  had  completed  arrange- 
ments for  placing  a  fleet  of  between  ten  and 
twenty  steamboats  on  the  Yukon  River  as  soon 
as  the  river  opens  next  spring.  The  boats  have 
already  been  contracted  for,  and  will  be  in  readi- 
ness for  the  opening  of  navigation.  These  boats 
will  be  flat-bottomed,  with  stern-wheels,  very 
much  of  the  same  style  as  the  old  Mississippi 
and  Ohio  River  craft.  They  will  be  built  to 
draw,  when  empty,  only  some  eight  inches  of 
water,  and  when  loaded  about  twenty  inches. 
The  lakes  along  the  Yukon  are  quite  deep,  but 
the  river  is  in  places  very  shallow,  necessitating 
the  light  draught  lines  on  which  the  boats  are 
being  built.  Half  of  this  fleet  will  ply  between 
the  point  where  the  trail  over  the  White  Pass 
strikes  the  headwaters  of  the  Yukon  and  Miles 
Canyon,  in  the  heart  of  the  Klondike  district. 
This  distance  is  G50  miles.     The  other  half  of  the 


A  Manual  f 01'  Gold  Seekers. 


97 


fleet  will  ply  on  the  lower  Yukon,  between  Miles 
Canyon,  and  the  mouth  of  the  river.  Com- 
munication will  thus  be  established  by  the  two 
principal  routes  by  which  the  gold  fields  are 
reached  by  way  of  the  White  Pass,  and  by  way  of 
the  lower  Yukon. 

Mr.  Wilkinson  says  that  it  is  now  altogether 
probable  that  the  British  Yukon  Company  will 
begin  the  construction  of  a  narrow-gauge  railroad 
over  the  White  Pass  as  early  next  spring  as  oper- 
ations can  be  begun.  It  was  at  first  the  inten- 
tion of  the  company  to  build  only  a  wagon  road 
next  summer,  to  be  followed  by  a  railroad  if  a 
subsidy  could  be  obtained  from  the  Dominion 
Government.  In  view,  however,  of  the  great 
rush  to  the  gold  fields  the  British  Yukon  Com- 
pany had  practically  decided  to  build  the  rail- 
road at  once. 

The  Alaska  SearcIiUglit  published  a  letter 
from  William  Moore,  at  Fourteen-Mile  Creek, 
Skagawa,  Alaska,  stating  that  the  White  Pass 
pack  trail  to  the  summit  of  the  pass  was  opened 
for  travel  July  16.  On  reaching  the  summit  the 
traveler  steps  upon  an  almost  level  country,  the 
grade  to  the  lakes  being  20  feet  to  the  mile.  The 
distance  from  Saltwater  to  the  Tagish  Lake  is  30 
miles,and  from  Saltwater  to  the  head  of  Lake  Ben- 
nett, 45  miles.  Both  routes  from  the  summit  are 
through  rolling  country,  for  the  most  part  open, 


i 


IP 


hi'' 


98 


Klondike, 


m 


m 


m 


■X 

I 


■i: 


iHi 


!JI 


U    ill! 


i:ii 


with  plenty  of  grass  for  feeding  stock,  water  and 
sufficient  timber  for  all  purposes.  From  Salt- 
water to  the  summit  stock  and  pack  horses  can 
be  driven  through  easily. 

Mr.  Escoline,  of  the  British  Yukon  Company, 
has  telegraph  from  Victoria  that  he  has  just  re- 
turned from  a  trip  through  the  White  Pass  into 
the  Yukon  country,  and  that  it  only  took  him 
two  days  to  make  the  journey  to  Tagish  Lake. 
Mr.  Escoline  represents  the  pass  as  easy,  and 
says  that  horses  go  right  through  without  any 
difficulty,  and  find  ample  forage  on  the  way. 

It  is  not  known  whether  one  can  buy  lumber 
for  boat  building  at  the  head  of  Lake  Ben- 
nett or  not,  but  it  is  assumed  that  the  rush 
has  exhausted  the  supply,  and  the  late  comers 
unprovided  with  boats  would  have  to  saw  their 
own  lumber.  The  Skagawa,  or  White  Pass,  is 
now  being  opened  for  horses,  nearly  all  the  peo- 
ple are  turning  that  way.  Lake  Lindermann, 
Lake  Bennett  or  Lake  Tagish  may  be  reached  by 
this  route,  at  from  twenty-four  to  thirty-one 
miles.  As  many  as  400  horses  are  either  on  the 
way  to  Skagawa  or  will  be  started  within  a 
week.  This  nr'^ber  will  relieve  the  accumula- 
tion of  freight  at  both  passes.  Packers  who  are 
taking  horses  will  be  able  to  earn  the  entire  cost 
of  their  animals  in  ten  days.  One  man  who 
shipped  thirty  horses  had  eight  c  ten  tons  of 


F 


m 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers, 


99 


freight  contracted  at  fifteen  cents  a  pound.  It 
is  assumed,  however,  that  the  packers*  harvest 
will  not  be  of  long  duration.  With  the  coming 
of  snow,  which  will  permit  of  using  sleds  most  of 
the  distance  across  the  pass,  prices  should  go 
down  to  two  or  three  cents  a  pound.  But  this 
condition  of  things  can  hardly  come  about  until 
the  river  shall  be  frozen  and  the  season  be  too 
late  to  reach  the  Yukon  before  spring. 

John  C.  Calbreath,  an  old-time  resident  at 
Telegraph  Creek  on  the  Stickeen  River,  British 
Columbia,  has  been  directed  by  the  Canadian 
authorities  to  secure  a  route  that  will  be  avail- 
able for  ordinary  traffic  from  the  head  of  Stickeen 
Kiver  to  Teslin  Lake.  This  body  of  water,  it 
may  be  mentioned,  is  the  source  of  the  Hoocalin- 
qua  River,  a  tributary  of  the  Lewis,  branch  of 
the  Yukon.  If  the  road  is  perfected  as  now 
contemplated  it  will  materially  shorten  the  dis- 
tance that  must  be  traveled  by  prospectors  in 
order  to  reach  the  Yukon  ountry,  and,  in  addi- 
tion to  this,  will  enable  them  to  avoid  all  moun- 
tainous trails  which  are  encountered  in  the  jour- 
ney by  way  of  Juneau. 

At  present  there  is  a  trail  from  the  mouth  of 
Telegraph  Creek  to  the  lake,  but  it  is  difficult 
and  not  by  any  means  in  a  straight  line.  It 
goes  westward  up  the  Tahtan  River,  and  then 
across  the  divide  into  the  valley  of  one  of  the 


m%' 


f^ 


'"^S 


IH 


I''- 
11 


100 


Klondike. 


lower  branches  of  the  Taku,  and  then  over 
another  divide  into  the  Teslin  Basin. 

Calbreath  prospected  the  entire  country  last 
season,  and  ascertained  from  the  natives  that  a 
little  further  westward  of  Telegraph  Creek  was  a 
higher  bench  of  open,  level,  country  extending 
almost  to  the  lake.  The  ascent  from  the  south 
is  comparatively  easy,  and,  in  fact,  the  only 
difficult  portion  of  the  proposed  route  is  imme- 
diately south  of  the  lake,  where  there  are  two  or 
three  miles  of  marshy  ground. 

Steamboat  operation  is  possible  on  the  Stickeen 
Biver  during  at  least  five  months  of  the  year, 
while  vessels  drawing  from  three  to  three  and  a 
half  feet  may  run  up  to  within  a  few  miles  of  the 
headwaters  of  the  stream.  A  Victoria  paper 
says  of  the  proposed  route: 

"A.  E.  Mills,  who  was  one  of  the  party  with  J. 
C.  Calbreath  building  the  trail  from  Telegraph 
Creek  to  Teslin  Lake,  is  back  in  Victoria. 
This  trail  is  the  one  to  which  the  government 
gave  a  grant  of  $2,000  to  assist  in  building.  The 
party  left  Telegraph  Creek  on  May  26  and  got 
the  trail  through  to  the  lake  on  June  28.  The 
intention  had  been  to  cross  the  plateau  to  the 
east  and  build  the  trail  by  that  line,  as  more 
direct,  but  there  too  much  snow  was  encoun- 
tered, and  so  the  party  took  the  old  Hudson's 
Bay  Company's  trail,  which  runs  sixty  miles. 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.  lOl 

working  along  it,  and  then  finished  to  the  lake, 
the  distance  being  some  150  miles.  The  route 
was  found  on  the  whole  level,  with  clumps  of 
scrubby  woods,  or  some  swamp  lands  to  encounter 
in  places,  but  is  pronounced  by  Mr.  Mills  to  be  a 
very  good  trail  and  a  very  feasible  way  into  the 
Yukon.  At  the  lake  a  large  scow  had  been  built 
by  men  in  Calbreath's  employ,  and  some  supplies 
were  shipped  on  it  to  Klondike  before  the  party 
started  on  the  return.  It  took  the  party  nine 
days  to  get  back  to  Telegraph  Creek,  though 
they  could  have  made  it  in  a  day  less  if  they  had 
wished.  Sixteen  miners  went  on  to  Klondike  on 
the  scow. 

"Mr.  St.  Cyr,  the  surveyor  sent  out  by  the 
Dominion  Government  to  examine  the  various 
routes  into  the  Yukon,  was  met  two  days'  jour- 
ney from  the  lake  as  the  Calbreath  party  came 
back.  He  had  followed  their  trail  in,  so  he  will 
be  in  a  position  to  report  upon  it,  and  he  will 
come  back  by  some  other  route.  By  this  time 
there  is  now  a  very  good  road  into  the  Yukon  if 
steamers  would  connect  at  Teslin  Lake.  Bond- 
ing goods  at  Wrangel,  they  can  be  taken  by 
steamer  up  the  Stickeen  to  Glenora,  where  the 
bond  can  be  lifted.  Then  at  Telegraph  Creek, 
ten  miles  further  on,  goods  can  be  taken  over  the 
150  miles  of  trail  to  Teslin  Lake,  and  from  there 
it  is  all  plain  sailing  by  water  to  Klondike. 


V 


m  li 


V 


102 


Klondike. 


This  rorfe  would  only  be  some  ten  or  twelve 
days'  tra^  el  from  Wrangel.  All  along  the  trail 
the  feed  for  cattle  is  excellent." 

The  yearly  report  of  the  British  Columbia 
Board  of  Trade,  which  has  just  been  issued  for 
1897,  has  the  following  encouraging  remarks  in 
regard  to  the  mining  possibilities  of  Casaiar,  and 
to  the  prospects  of  the  Cassiar  Cei  oral  Railroad 
in  connection  therewith.  Speaking  first  of  the 
possibilities  of  the  district,  the  report  says: 

''Immediately  north  of  Caribon  is  the  district 
of  Cassiar,  an  immense  country,  very  little  pros- 
pected. Several  of  the  waterways  have  afforded 
richer  placer  diggings. 

"It  is  hardly  within  the  scope  of  this  report  to 
do  more  than  mention  the  Yukon  gold  fields 
which  lie  north  of  Cassiar  in  the  Northwest  Ter- 
ritory of  Canada.  The  latest  excitement  re- 
sulted from  discoveries  on  the  Klondike  River 
and  tributaries.  Some  of  these  are  reported  by 
old  miners  to  equal  California  in  early  days  in 
richness.  It  is  believed  that  this  mineral  belt 
extends  to  Cassiar,  and  that  the  whole  of  the 
divide  will  be  found  to  be  rich  in  gold." 

Then  as  to  the  railroad  and  its  proposed  connec- 
tions the  Board  of  Trade  speaks  as  follows: 

"It  is  a  matter  for  congratulation  to  find  Brit- 
ish capitalists  interesting  themselves  in  transpor- 
tation enterprise  in  this  province,  as  it  affords 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.  103 


some  assurance  that  the  accounts  of  the  great 
natural  resources  of  British  Columbia  are  gain- 
ing credit  in  established  centers  of  tinance.  The 
charter  of  the  Caasiar  Central  llailway  has  been 
acquired  by  such  persons.  Although  the  railway 
in  this  case  will  be  short,  proh'  bly  not  more  than 
seventy-five  miles,  an  immense  area  will  be  tribu- 
tary to  it.  Fort  Wrangdl,  which  is  open  to  deep- 
sea  vessels,  will,  in  the  meantime,  be  the  western 
starting  point;  from  thence  passengers  and 
freight  will  bo  taken  on  the  company's  steamers 
to  Telegraph  Creek,  Stickeen  River,  where  the 
railway  will  begin.  The  first  eastern  terminus 
will  be  at  Dease  Lake. 

*'It  is  proposed  that  the  company's  steamers 
run  on  this  lake  and  on  the  Liard  and  Frances 
Rivers,  tributaries  to  the  Mackenzie  River,  which 
flows  into  the  Arctic  Ocean.  A  few  portages 
only  will  be  necessary  to  control  navigable  waters 
extending  over  at  least  1,000  miles.  It  is  ex- 
pected that  preliminary  surveys  will  be  made  im- 
mediately, and  that  the  railway  will  be  completed 
before  the  close  of  1899." 

Moran  Bros.,  proprietors  of  a  shipbuilding 
plant  and  machine-shop  at  Seattle,  closed  a  con- 
tract with  a  British  Columbia  syndicate  lately 
to  build  three  boats  for  the  Stickeen  River. 
These  boats  are  for  a  new  route  to  the  Yukon 
which    the     Canadians     are     exploiting.    The 


i 


IT 

It! 


104 


Klondike. 


M 


W 


Hi 


t 


i; 


Stickeen  River  heads  in  the  Cassiar  mining  dis- 
trict. From  the  head  of  navigation  on  the 
Stickeen  there  is  now  a  trail  into  Dease  Lake,  at 
one  time  a  famous  mining  camp,  to  which  twenty 
years  ago  there  was  a  rush  similar  to  that  on  at 
present  to  Klondike. 

From  Dease  Creek  the  Canadian  Government 
is  building  a  trail  to  the  Yukon.  When  com- 
pleted this  will  be  the  Canadian  route  to  the 
mines,  although  the  Stickeen's  mouth  is  in 
Alaska.  One  of  these  boats  will  be  a  stern- 
wheeler  190  feet  long,  with  a  beam  of  20  feet; 
another  will  be  a  stern-wheeler  120  feet  long, 
and  the  third  a  barge  of  about  500  tons*  capac- 
ity. The  Morans  are  to  get  out  all  the  material 
here  and  have  it  ready  to  put  together,  and  build 
the  engines  and  boilers  as  well.  Then  the  ma- 
terial will  be  taken  to  the  Stickeen,  and  the  boats 
built  and  launched  there. 

M.  J.  Heney,  who  returned  to  Seattle  on  the 
City  of  Topeka,  has  stated  that  a  new  route  to 
the  Klondike  has  been  surveyed  and  partially  con- 
structed by  the  Canadian  government.  Pack 
trains  are  already  running  over  it.  The  route  is 
by  the  regular  passenger  steamers  to  Fort 
Wrangel,  from  which  place  the  Hudson  Bay 
steamer  is  taken  to  the  head  of  navigation  on 
the  Stickeen  Biver.  From  this  point  the  gov- 
ernment has  cut  the  trail  to  a  point  on  the 


I  ft. 


i  I, 


I     1 


'!  I 


JHi 


i;  ii  (I 


A  Manual  for  GoM  Seekers.         105 


Y^^con  River,  below  the  rapids.  The  route  is 
BH'<i  -0  be  popular  with  manj. 

Groat  interest  is  felt  in  new  routes  to  the 
Yukon  gold  fields,  which  will  reduce  the  time 
and  cost  of  the  journey.  A  man  who  establishes 
pack  trains  over  any  of  the  new  routes  will  make 
more  money  than  most  of  the  new  Klondike 
miners.  The  best  trail  from  the  coast  to  the 
Y'ukon  region  is  said  to  be  by  the  Lake  Teslin 
trail.  It  starts  at  Fort  Wrangel  and  presents 
few  difficulties.  This  route  leads  up  Telegraph 
Creek  from  Fort  Wrangel,  and  is  clear  water 
travel  for  about  100  miles  up  the  creek.  The 
creek  is  abandoned  there  and  the  traveler  strikes 
straight  across  the  smooth  tableland  for  about  175 
miles.  Then  Teslin  Lake  is  reached,  and  it  is 
plain  sailing  down  the  Hootalinqua  River,  a  tribu- 
tary of  the  Lewis  River,  and  down  the  Lewis  it 
is  clear  going  to  Dawson  City. 

The  only  dangerous  part  of  this  route  is  the 
Five  Fingers  Rapids,  and  these  are  not  bad  if 
one  has  a  guide.  Even  now,  it  is  said,  the 
trip  to  the  gold  fields  can  be  made  with  less 
danger  and  more  quickly  by  this  route  than  by 
any  other.  It  is  open  usually  until  the  middle 
of  October,  and  sometimes  as  late  as  November. 

The  chief  astronomer  of  the  Dominion  Bureau 
of  Surveys  and  International  Boundary  Com- 
miission  has  said  in  an  interview  that  in  his  opin- 


r 


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loe 


Klondike. 


■A       \ 


ion  the  route  to  the  Klondike  gold  fields  by  way 
of  the  Mackenzie  Kiver,  Fort  McPherson,  and 
Peel  Kiver,  to  Fort  Yukon  in  Alaska,  was  ut- 
terly impracticable,  if  not  impossible  in  the  fall. 

Starting  from  Edmonton,  the  end  of  railway 
communication,  the  commissioner  said,  the  way 
traversed  would  be  upward  of  3,000  miles  over 
land,  river,  and  lake,  to  the  Klondike.  The 
water  route  included  many  difficult  portages. 
The  Hudson  Bay  Company's  steamers  ply  the 
Mackenzie  at  uncertain  dates,  from  point  to 
point.  No  means  of  conveyance  on  other  por- 
tions of  the  journey  are  to  be  found,  and  travelers 
would  have  to  canoe  and  portage  vast  distances 
under  great  difficulties,  subject  to  long  delays, 
carrying  their  own  means  of  locomotion  and 
necessaries  of  life. 

Under  favorable  circumstances  the  time  con- 
sumed, exclusive  of  unavoidable  delays  in  mak- 
ing the  journey,  would  be  upward  of  two 
months.  The  Mackenzie  River  will  be  open 
until  about  the  middle  of  October,  but  by  the 
time  the  Yukon  could  now  be  reached  it  would 
be  closed  to  navigation,  and  traveling  overland 
for  500  miles  from  Fort  Yukon  io  the  Klondike 
would  be  almost  impossible. 

This  belief  is,  however,  not  shared  by  the  citi- 
zens of  Fort  Saskatchewan,  who  havo  met  and 
passed  the  following  resolutions: 


It  ^1- 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         107 


"That,  in  our  opinion,  and  for  the  interest  of 
the  whole  Dominion,  the  Federal  authorities 
should  immediately  construct  a  wagon  road  and 
telegraph  line  from  this  point  to  the  Upper  Yu- 
kon, via  Fort  Assiniboine,  the  Lesser  Slave  Lake, 
the  Peace  and  Liard  River  Valleys,  where  an  al- 
most air  line  can  be  got,  per  Dr.  Dawson's  re- 
port of  1888,  and  tap  the  mineral  belt  of  the 
West  and  North  at  a  nominal  cost,  the  total 
distance  from  here  to  Klondike  in  a  straight 
line  being  only  1,100  miles,  while  the  near- 
est now  used  is  about  3,400  miles.  Our  pro- 
posed route  has  250  miles  of  wagon  road  now 
almost  ready  for  use,  another  250  miles  is  re- 
ported to  be  through  prairie  and  blufE,  ^nd 
it  is  supposed  that  between  600  and  700  miles 
could  be  completed  between  now  the  first 
of  December  next.  We  would  respectfully 
recommend  that  Mr.  McConnell  have  charge  of 
the  survey,  as  he  has  had  experience  on  part  of 
route  during  the  geological  survey,  and  thus 
save  a  lot  of  valuable  time.  The  resolution  is 
respectfully  submitted."  Ax.  F.  Fraser  Tims 
is  chairman  of  the  committee. 

There  is  a  new  route  to  the  Klondike.  Let 
the  voyager  buy  his  canoe  at  Winnipeg,  on  the 
Red  River  of  the  North,  float  it  down  stream 
(north)  to  Lake  Winnipeg,  ti>?n  cross  Lake  Winnir 
peg  to  the  mouth  of  Saskatchewan  River,  then 


,f>  w-  ^ 


m 


i 


I 


li     : 


I  u 


i  ° 


n    i: 


I'ii' 


i-'    I 


108 


Klondike. 


follow  that  river  up  stream  to  the  forks,  where 
the  North  Branch  empties  its  waters  into  the 
Saskatchewan.  Follow  from  there  the  North 
Branch  up  stream  to  White  Whale  Lake.  Here 
is  the  first  transfer  overland,  ten  miles  westward 
to  Pembina  River.  Then  float  down  stream  on 
the  Pembina  River  to  the  Athabasca,  thence 
down  stream  to  Lake  Athabasca,  crossing  it  and 
taking  the  Slave  River  down  stream.  Crossing 
the  Great  Slave  Lake,  take  the  Mackenzie  River 
northward  (down  stream)  until  the  mouth  of  the 
Liard  or  Mountain  River  is  reached.  Follow 
the  Liard  or  Mountain  River  up  stream  to  Simp- 
son Lake,  where  the  second  and  last  transfer  by 
land  occurs,  fifty  miles  northward  to  Francis 
Lake,  which  is  the  headwaters  of  the  Pelly  River. 
Float  down  this  Pelly  River  to  the  Yukon, 
thence  down  the  Yukon,  prospecting  as  you  go, 
until  your  El  Dorado  is  reached. 

This  country,  until  Great  Slave  Lake  is 
reached,  is  filled  with  all  sorts  of  game.  It  will 
take  no  longer  to  go  this  route  than  it  will  to  go 
by  vessel  from  Seattle  to  St.  Michael,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Yukon,  and  thence  1,800  miles  up 
the  Yukon. 

A  Caribou  mining  man  claims  he  has  found  a 
road  into  the  Klondike  country,  which  starts 
from  that  ancient  and  renowned  placer  ground. 
This  route  starts  from  the  uppe  •  end  of  Stuart 


I 


i 

1^ 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         109 

Lake,  about  500  miles  above  Ashcroft,  B.  0. 
For  sixteen  miles  above  Ashcroft  there  is  an  ex- 
cellent wagon  road,  which  brings  the  traveler  to 
Upper  Fraser  River,  which  is  navigable  for  350 
miles  for  light  steamers. 

Miners  provided  with  pack  horses  need  not 
bother  with  rivers  and  lakes,  as  the  distance  to 
the  fort  can  be  traveled  with  ease  by  pack  train. 
No  feed  need  be  canied  for  horses,  as  there  is  an 
abundance  of  grass  the  entire  distance. 

From  Fort  Connelly  the  route  would  be  to 
Telegraph  Creek,  over  prairie  country.  From 
Telegraph  Creek  to  Klondike  travel  is  easy.  The 
entire  route  is  sa"d  to  present  many  preferable 
features  to  the  water  route  via  the  coast  and 
through  the  lakes  to  the  Yukon  Eiver. 

This  route  takes  the  traveler  through  what 
will  probably  prove  one  of  the  greatest  mineral 
producing  countries  in  the  world.  Many  rich 
creeks  will  undoubtedly  be  found,  which  will 
make  it  unnecessary  for  prospectors  to  go  further 
north,  and  will  make  room  for  thousands  who 
will  be  crowded  out  of  the  Klondike  region. 
The  new  overland  route  places  the  Klondike 
country  within  1,300  miles  of  Seattle  and  within 
1,000  miles  of  railroad  communication. 

One  adventurous  Norwegian,  N.  Anderson,  of 
Rossland,  B.  C,  purposes  piloting  a  party  of  his 
countrymen  into  the  Klondike  country.    He  will 


i: 


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i. 


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I      :-i 


I    .' 


li!    iiji 


1 1' 

i' 


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i     i 


1 1 


111! 


110 


Klondike. 


go  to  Norway  and  thero  organize  the  party,  select- 
ing only  those  who  are  strong,  hardy  and  used  to 
skis  or  Norwegian  snowshoes.  His  idea  is  to 
strike  off  from  the  Fraser  River  and  shape  a 
course  for  the  headwaters  of  the  Mackenzie  River, 
and  follow  that  stream  far  enough  north  and 
then  make  for  the  headwaters  of  the  Yukon,  and 
follow  that  stream  down.  The  upper  portions  of 
the  Yukon  and  its  confluents  there  have  never 
been  prospected  by  white  men,  and  he  feels  cer- 
tain that  during  the  trip  rich  placers  will  be 
found. 

"All  roads  lead  to  Rome,"  and  there  are 
many  ways  of  reaching  the  auriferous  region  of 
the  Upper  Yukon.  One  of  them  is  thus  de- 
scribed by  a  writer  in  Tlie  Hamilton  Spectator  : 

''Canadians  should  awaken  to  the  fact  that 
they  have  emphatically  'the  inside  track'  to 
their  own  gold  fields — a  route  not  half  the  dis- 
tance, largely  covered  by  railways  and  steam- 
boats, with  supply  stations  at  convenient  inter- 
vals all  the  way.  By  this  route  the  gold  fields 
can  be  reached  in  two  months  or  six  weeks,  and 
the  cost  of  travel  is  ridiculously  cheap — nearly 
anybody  can  afford  to  go  even  now,  and  by  spring 
it  should  be  fitted  out  for  the  accommodation  of 
any  amount  of  traffic.  For  the  details  of  the 
information  the  Spectator  is  indebted  to  A.  H. 
Heming,  of   this  city,  the  artist  who  accom- 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         Ill 

panied  Mr.  Whitney  in  his  journey  toward  the 
barren  lands,  and  the  data  may  be  accepted  as 
correct,  as  they  were  secured  from  the  Hudson 
Bay  officials. 

*'The  details  of  the  inland  Canadian  route, 
briefly,  are  as  follows:  By  Canadian  Pacific  rail- 
way to  Calgary,  and  thence  north  by  rail  to  Ed- 
monton; from  there  by  stage  to  Athabasca 
Landing,  forty  miles;  then  there  is  a  continuous 
waterway  for  canoe  travel  to  Fort  McPherson,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  River,  from  which 
point  the  Peel  River  lies  southward  to  the  gold 
region.     The  exact  figures  are  as  follows: 

''Edmonton  to  Athabasca  Landing,  40;  to  Fort 
McMurray,  240;  Fort  Chippewyan,  185;  Smith 
Landing,  102;  Fort  Smith,  16;  Fort  Resolution, 
194;  Fort  Providence,  163;  Fort  Simpson,  161; 
Fort  Wrigley,  136;  Fort  Norman,  184;  Fort 
Good  Hope,  174;  Fort  McPherson,  282.  Total, 
1,882. 

•'There  are  only  two  portages  on  this  route  of 
any  size — that  from  Edmonton  to  Athabasca 
Landing,  over  which  there  is  a  stage  and  wagon 
line,  and  at  Smith's  Landing,  sixteen  miles,  over 
which  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  has  a  tramway. 
There  are  four  or  five  other  portages  of  a  few 
hundred  yards,  but  with  these  exceptions  there 
is  a  fine  'down-grade*  water  route  all  the  way. 
It  is  the  old  Hudson  Bay  trunk  line  to  the  north 


i 


!'^11 


1^ 


M 


i:;: 


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!  pill 


! 


is  ;'8 


i  :; 


112 


Klondike. 


that  has  been  in  use  for  nearly  a  century.  Wher- 
ever there  is  a  lake  or  long  stretch  of  deep-water 
river  navigation,  the  company  has  small  freight 
steamers  which  ply  back  and  forward  during  the 
summer  between  the  portage  points  or  shallows. 
With  comparatively  little  expenditure  the  com- 
pany, or  the  government,  can  improve  the  facili- 
ties along  the  line  so  that  any  amount  of  freight, 
or  any  number  of  passengers,  can  be  taken  into 
the  gold  region  at  less  than  the  time  and  cost 
that  it  takes  Americans  to  reach  it  from  Port  St. 
Michael,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yukon,  to  the 
Klondike,  exclusive  of  the  steamer  trip  of  2,500 
miles  from  Seattle  to  Port  St.  Michael. 

"Canadians  can  leave  here  on  a  Monday  at 
11:15  A.M.  and  reach  Edmonton  on  Friday  at  7 
P.M.  From  that  point  a  party  of  three  men  with 
a  canoe  should  reach  Fort  McPherson  easily  in 
from  fifty  to  sixty  days,  provided  they  are  able- 
bodied  young  fellows  with  experience  in  that 
sort  of  travel.  They  will  need  to  take  canoes 
from  here,  unless  they  propose  to  hire  Indians 
with  large  birch-bark  canoes  to  carry  them. 
Birch-bark  canoes  can  be  secured  of  any  size  up 
to  the  big  ones  manned  by  ten  Indians  that  carry 
three  tons.  But  birch  barks  are  not  reliable  un- 
less Indians  are  taken  along  to  doctor  them  and 
keep  them  from  getting  water-logged.  The 
Hudson  Bay  Company  will  also  contract  to  take 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         113 

freight  northward  on  the  steamers  until  the  close 
of  navigation.  Travelers  tc  the  gold  mines 
leaving  now  would  probably  reach  Fort  McPher- 
son  before  navigation  closed. 

**Any  Canadians  who  are  anxious  to  get  into 
the  Klondike  ahead  of  the  Americins  can  leave 
between  now  and  August  1,  reach  Fort  McPher- 
son,  and  if  winter  comes  on  they  can  exchange 
their  canoes  for  dog  trains,  and  reach  the  Klon- 
dike without  half  the  difficulty  that  would  be 
experienced  on  the  Alaska  route.  The  great 
advantage  of  the  inland  route  is  that  it  is  an 
organized  line  of  communication.  Travelers 
need  not  carry  any  more  food  than  will  take 
them  from  one  Hudson  Bay  post  to  the  next, 
and  there  is  abundance  of  fish  and  wild  fowl  en 
route.  They  can  also  be  in  touch  with  such  civ- 
ilization as  prevails  up  there,  can  always  get  as- 
sistance at  the  posts,  and  will  have  some  place 
to  stay  should  they  fall  sick  or  meet  with  an  ac- 
cident. If  they  are  lucky  enough  to  make  their 
pile  in  the  Klondike,  they  can  come  back  by  the 
dog  sled  route  during  the  winter.  (There  is  one 
winter  mail  to  Fort  McPherson  in  winter).  Dogs 
for  teams  can  be  purchased  at  Learly  any  of  the 
line  of  Hudson  Bay  posts,  that  form  a  chain  of 
road-houses  on  the  trip.  Parties  traveling  alone 
will  not  need  to  employ  guides  until  they  get 
near  Fort  McPherson,  and  from  there  on  to 


1^ 


I 


'it 


J 


lU 


Klondike. 


Klondike,  as  the  rest  of  the  route  from  Edmon- 
ton is  so  well  defined,  having  been  traveled  for 
years,  that  no  guides  are  required. 

*'You  don't  need  a  couple  of  thousand  dollars 
to  start  for  Klondike  to-morrow  by  the  Edmon- 
ton route.  All  you  need  is  a  good  constitution; 
some  experience  in  boating  and  camping,  and 
about  $150.  Suppose  a  party  of  three  decide  to 
start.  First,  they  will  need  to  purchase  a  canoe, 
about  135  or  less;  first-class  ticket  from  Hamil- 
ton to  Edmonton,  $70.40;  second-class,  ditto, 
$40.90;  cost  of  food  at  Edmonton  for  three  men 
for  two  months  (should  consist  of  pork,  flour, 
tea  and  baking  powder),  $35;  freight  on  canoe 
to  Fort  McPherson,  $23.  Total  for  three  men 
from  Hamilton  to  Fort  McPherson,  provided 
they  travel  second-class  on  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  (they  can  travel  in  a  Pullman  coming 
back),  will  be  $218.70.  These  figures  are  fur- 
nished by  Mr.  Heming,  who  has  been  over  the 
route  400  miles  north  of  Edmonton,  and  got  the 
rest  of  his  data  from  the  Hudson  Bay  officials. 

*'If  three  men  chip  in  $150  each  they  would 
have  a  margin  of  over  $200  for  purchasing  their 
tools,  and  for  transport  from  Fort  McPherson  to 
the  Klondike.  This  is  how  it  may  be  done 
cheap,  though  Mr.  Heming  considers  it  ample 
for  any  party  starting  this  summer.  Prices  will 
likely  rise  on  the  route  when  the  rush  begins. 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         115 


If  the  Hudson  Bay  people  are  alive  to  their  in- 
terests they  will  forward  a  large  amount  of  sup- 
plies for  Fort  McPherson  immediately,  and  make 
it  the  base  of  supplies  for  the  Klondike  during 
the  coming  winter.  Parties  should  consist  of 
three  men  each,  as  that  is  the  crew  of  a  canoe. 
It  will  take  600  pounds  of  food  to  carry  three 
men  over  the  route.  Passengers  on  the  Cana- 
dian Pacific  Bailway  are  entitled  to  carry  100 
pounds  of  baggage.  The  paddling  is  all  down 
stream  except  when  you  turn  south  up  Peel 
River,  and  sails  should  be  taken,  as  there  is 
often  a  favorable  wind  for  days." 

The  trip  from  Fort  McPherson  to  Klondike. by 
this  route  is  the  uncertain  quantity.  The  water- 
shed between  the  Peel  River  and  the  headwaters 
of  the  Stuart  and  Beaver  Rivers — down  one  of 
which  the  descent  to  the  Yukon  could  be  made 
— is  said  to  consist  of  comparatively  low  moun- 
tains, easy  to  cross.  Mr.  Ogilvie,  the  official  sur- 
veyoi  of  the  Canadian  Government  in  the  Yukon 
country,  states  that  a  prospector  crossed  the 
range  from  the  headwaters  of  the  Beaver  to  the 
Peel,  and  found  only  low,  gravelly  hills  in  the 
way.  In  cold  weather  this  route  would  probably 
be  nearly  as  impractical  as  the  other  routes. 

One  expedition,  composed  of  three  men  with 
supplies  for  two  years,  has  been  prepared  by 
Messrs.  U,  H.  Pope,  M.  P.,  A.  L.  White  and 


I* 


116 


Klondike, 


i 


I     : 


I     I 


others,  and  it  will  follow  the  route.  This  little 
party  will  go  by  Edmonton,  Athabasca  Landing, 
and  the  Mackenzie  River. 

The  prospect  of  the  opening  of  an  all-Cana- 
dian route  to  the  Yukon  has  already  brought 
forward  claims  from  more  than  one  Western  city 
to  I  he  privilege  of  being  the  terminus  of  such  a 
route.  The  Winnipeg  Daily  Nor^wester  of  July 
30  contains  an  article  of  considerable  length, 
dealing  with  the  part  to  be  played  by  the  Red 
River  in  the  establishment  of  a  water  route  to 
the  gold  fields.  It  calls  for  the  pushing  on  of 
the  construction  of  locks  at  the  St.  Andrew's 
Rapids.  It  says:  "But  for  the  obstructions  at 
St.  Andrew's,  there  would  be  uninterrupted 
steamboat  navigation  between  Winnipeg  and 
the  Saskatchewan  via  the  Red  River  and  Lake 
Winnipeg.  With  the  exception  of  the  Grand 
Rapids,  round  which  there  is  a  tramway  portage 
of  some  three  miles,  the  Saskatchewan  River  is 
navigable  for  steamboats  from  Lake  Winnipeg 
to  Edmonton.  At  Edmonton  a  wagon  road  of 
ninety  miles  connects  the  Saskatchewan  with 
the  Athabasca,  and  this  wagon  road  will  soon  be 
superseded  by  a  railway,  for  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  Company  has  now  announced  its  inten- 
tion of  extending  its  Calgary  and  Edmonton 
branch  to  Athabasca  Landing.  There  is  thence 
continuous  navigation  by  steamer  and  fiatboat 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         117 

along  the  Athabasca  Lake  and  Slave  River  to 
near  Fort  Smith,  where  there  is  an  obstruction 
of  a  few  miles,  round  which,  however,  there  is  a 
good  wagon  road.  From  Fort  Smith  there  is 
continuous  steamboat  navigation  to  the  Arctic 
Ocean,  via  the  Great  Slave  Lake  and  the  Mac- 
kenzie River.  There  are  a  number  of  tributaries 
to  the  Mackenzie  River,  whoso  headwaters  almost 
interlock  with  the  headwaters  of  streams  flowing 
westerly  into  the  Yukon  River.  One  of  the  most 
important  of  these  is  the  Liard  River,  whose 
headwaters  nearly  meet  the  headwaters  of  the 
Pelly  River,  the  most  important  branch  of  the 
Yukon  in  British  territory.  The  Liard  River  is 
susceptible  of  steam  navigation  from  its  con- 
fluence with  the  Mackenzie  to  Fort  Liard.  Mr. 
McConnell,  D.L.S.,  has  navigated  it  by  canoe  be- 
tween Fort  Liard  and  the  confluence  of  the 
Dease  River,  and  it  is  doubtless  similarly  navi- 
gable still  further  up.  The  Peel  River,  another 
affluent  of  the  Mackenzie,  has  its  headwaters 
very  near  the  headwaters  of  the  Macmillan 
River,  which  flows  into  the  Pelly  or  Yukon 
River  at  Fort  Selkirk.  Tributaries  to  the  Peel 
River  also  interlock  with  the  headwaters  of  the 
Porcupine  River,  which  joins  the  Yukon  River 
at  Fort  Yukon.  The  Peel  River  is  capable  of 
steamboat  navigation  for  over  half  Hs  length, 
and  is  doubtless  susceptible  of  flatboat  naviga- 
tion almost  its  entire  length. 


i<l 


11 


118 


Klondike. 


liii; 


I* 


1 

pi 

11 

til' 

si- 

1 f! 

ll   ik- 

f 

i  ^ 

t|! 

h  ' 

II 

j:; 

Writing  from  Forf.  Saskatchewan  to  the  Cal- 
gary Herald,  under  date  of  July  26,  Mr.  F. 
Frasor  Tims  makes  the  assertion  that  **Calgary 
should  be  the  jumping-ofi  place  for  the  whole  of 
the  Yukon  country,  either  for  the  upper  or 
lower  portion."     He  proceeds  as  follows: 

*'For  the  Lower  Yukon  all  that  has  to  be 
done  is  to  start  either  from  Athabasca  Landing 
or  Peace  River  Landing  (preferably  the  latter,  as 
there  would  only  be  one  portage  instead  of 
more  on  the  other  route),  and  drop  down  stream 
all  the  way  to  the  Mackenzie  River,  to  Peel  River 
(one  of  its  western  branches),  and  cross  the 
divide  about  fifty  miles,  and  then  you  find  the 
Porcupine  River,  which  is  one  of  the  principal 
rivers  flowing  into  the  Yukon,  and  used  to  be 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  way  of  getting  to 
Fort  Yukon  prior  to  the  United  States  taking 
possession  of  that  portion  of  Alaska.  In  addi- 
tion to  it  there  may  be  several  other  feasible 
routes  not  so  far  north. 

*'To  reach  the  Upper  Yukon  country  the 
route  should  be  via  the  ruins  of  Fort  Assini- 
bo'ae.  Lesser  Slave  Lake  and  Peace  River  Land- 
ing. There  is  an  old  cart  trail  from  Edmonton 
to  Lesser  Slave  Lake,  which  has  not  been  used 
for  years,  but  which  could  be  put  in  shape  for 
wagons  at  a  nominal  cost,  and  from  the  lake  to 
Peace  River  Landing,  a  distance  of  about  /»eventy 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         119 

miles,  there  is  row  in  operation  a  good  wagon 
road.  From  Peace  River  Landing  to  the  Liard 
River  it  is  a  country  similar  to  that  of  Edmonton 
district,  namely,  prairie  and  bush. 

"A  wagon  road,  in  addition  to  the  water  route 
of  the  Liard,  can  be  got  by  following  up  the 
valley  of  the  Liard,  or  striking  across  country  to 
Lake  Francis,  and  this  brings  you  to  the  upper 
part  of  the  Yukon  and  close  to  where  the  big 
finds  have  been  made.  The  total  distance  from 
Edmonton  to  the  Upper  Yukon  would  thus  be 
about  850  miles. 


I 


1- 


wr 


^^ 


ill 


120 


Klondike. 


LIFE  AT  THE  DIGGINGS. 


|i!i'" 

li^^ 


Nothing  so  vividly  portrays  life  in  a  new 
region  as  letters  from  those  that  are  struggling 
for  a  living  there,  and  in  accordance  Avith  this 
belief  a  collection  of  those  most  worthy  of 
credit  is  here  gathered  together.  They  show 
what  life  really  is  in  these  new  diggings  on  the 
edge  of  the  Arctic  circle. 

A  former  Seattle  man  writes: 

"Klondike,  Alaska,  June  15,  1897. 
"I  get  your  letter  all  right,  and  will  answer. 
"We  are  here  in  safety  and  are  glad  we  came,  as  I 
think  we  are  strictly  *in  it.'  The  mines  are 
very  rich  and  new  strikes  are  being  made  all  the 
time,  but  we  may  not  get  anything  very  big. 
We  made  a  fine  trip  and  are  doing  fairly  well. 
Wages  are  $15  a  day  now  and  may  keep  at  $1  to 
$1.50  per  hour  all  winter,  but  some  think  they 
will  come  down  to  $1  per  hour.  I  like  the  coun- 
try very  well,  but  there  is  lots  of  hard  work. 
Getting  here  our  trip  cost  us  two  $336,  or  $168 
each,  and  three  months'  work  to  get  in  and  settled. 
Have  two  claims  each  staked;  Henry  has  earned 
nearly  $400  at  $15  a  day,  while  I  am  on  a  lay 
representing  a  half  interest  in  the  claim.    Don't 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         121 

know  if  there  is  anything  in  it  or  not.  lie  \a 
making  our  grubstake  for  the  winter,  while  I  am 
fishing  for  a  good  strike  of  our  own. 

*'I  am  well  and  like  this  country,  but  it  is  a 
queer  place.  Just  think  of  having  to  go  to  bed  in 
broad  daylight,  for  the  daylight  is  twenty-four 
hours  long  here  now.  We  will  have  our  night 
next  winter.  It  comes  then  in  chunks  and 
nearly  forgets  to  go  away.  We  have  four  or  live 
months'  grub,  all  but  the  flour,  and  that  is  $G  a 
sack,  and  that  is  low  when  a  man  can  get  $15  a 
day.  I  have  not  earned  a  dollar  yet.  Henry  will 
soon  have  $450  earned  for  our  grub  next  winter. 
We  are  in  Cahoots  yet.  I  wrote  home  to-day.  The 
man  that  takes  this  out  had  $40,000  out  of  his 
dump  this  spring,  and  only  dug  a  little  corner  of 
his  claim  last  winter.  Hundreds  are  like  him,  and 
I  hope  to  be  some  time  in  the  next  two  years." 

One  of  the  most  interesting  descriptions  of  a 
miner's  life  in  the  far  North  is  contained  in  a 
letter  written  by  Mr.  E.  S.  Dunkle,  of  Adelphi, 
Ohio,  and  he  says: 

"As  I  have  a  chance  to  send  a  note  out  will 
take  '•-dvantage  of  the  opportunity.  I  wintered 
on  tne  Hootalinqua  Eiver,  the  first  white  that  ever 
put  in  a  winter  there;  the  other  boys  did  not  get 
their  grub  over  the  mountain.  They  came  over 
this  spring.  I  had  a  great  experience  killing 
lynxes  and  wolverines. 

"The  boys  brought  me  the  news  of  this  great 
gold  strike  here  on  the  Klondike  Kiver.  The 
like  has  never  been  known.  Some  claims  clean 
up  $1,800  a  day.     Well,  when  I  got  the  news  I 


\ 


IP 


T 


lit 


122 


Klondike. 


waited  till  the  river  broke  up,  and  gave  the  ice 
four  days  the  start,  then  I  loaded  up  my  boat  and 
started.  I  caught  the  ice  the  first  day.  It  took 
me  eight  d^s  to  go  eighty  miles.  Had  it  been 
clear  of  ice  I  would  have  made  it  in  one  day,  but 
it  was  one  jam  after  another.  I  slept  one  ^Jght 
on  a  cake  of  ice. 

"When  I  struck  the  Lewis  Kiver  I  saw  a  tent 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  and  I  steered 
for  it  and  found  four  white  men.  The  first 
thing  I  asked  for  wa^  tobacco,  as  I  had  not  had  a 
smoke  since  the  20th  of  March.  They  told  me 
they  were  the  last  to  stay  over  at  Lake  La  Barge, 
and  that  there  were  100  boats  ahead  of  me. 
This  was  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  I  talked  an 
hour  with  them,  then  got  in  my  boat  and 
started.  I  had  a  hard  sail  and  steered  from  the 
stern  with  a  sweep  and  held  the  sail  rope  so  I 
could  let  go  at  any  time.  My  boat  was  22  feet 
long  and  36-inoh  beam.  I  had  about  1,200 
pounds  aboard. 

"Well,  the  wind  favored  n:e,  and  as  the  crowd 
did  not  carry  any  sails  on  account  of  the  ice,  I 
caught  them  the  second  day.  I  never  saw  such 
a  rush.  They  were  following  the  ice  too  close, 
and  lots  of  boats  were  upset  and  everything  lost, 
but  only  two  were  drowned.  There  were  five  in 
one  boat  that  upset,  and  I  picked  one  of  them  up 
and  took  him  the  rest  of  the  way  with  me  so  that 
I  might  have  some  one  to  talk  to.  But  I  run 
the  Five  Fingers  and  the  Pink  Rapids  myself.  I 
made  the  600-mile  trip  without  accident.  Old- 
timers  say  I  made  a  great  trip  alone. 

"I  came  in  with  the  push,  but  when  we  got 
here  we  found  everything  staked.    Forty  miles 


A  Mcmual  for  Gold  Seekers.         123 

to  Circle  City,  and  everybody  rushed  in  and  took 
everything  up.  But  as  sopii  as  the  water  goes 
down  there  will  be  some  rich  strikes  made  on 
other  gulches.  1  started  on  May  3,  and  landed 
here  on  the  21st,  and  have  taken  in  1330  in  four- 
teen days,  but  1  can't  keep  it  up  all  summer.  I 
expect  to  make  $2,000.  I  have  a  chance  for  a 
'lay'  this  winter  to  'burn,'  and  if  I  get  it  I  will 
make  $10,000  before  spring.  If  there  are  any 
new  strikes  I  will  get  one  of  my  own.  I  fooled 
last  summer  away,  but  I  am  in  it  now  and  in- 
tend to  stay  if  I  keep  my  health.  '^  have  not 
been  sick  a  day  yet. 

"Grub  is  very  scarce  here  until  the  boats  get 
up  the  Yukon.  Men  are  going  round  with  from 
$10,000  to  $50,000  in  their  pockets  and  living  on 
bread  and  beans.  I  have  plenty  of  meat,  flour, 
beans,  sugar,  rice,  raisins,  apples  and  peaches, 
but  I  keep  them  all  covered  up. 

"Bacon  sold  for  $2  per  pound  and  wages  arc 
$15  per  day.  There  are  about  1,000  men  here. 
I  saw  one  man  come  in  with  100  pounds  of  gold. 
There  has  not  been  a  single  theft  her3.  They 
would  string  him  up  too  quick. 

Another  Argonaut  has  this  to  say: 

"This  is  the  land  of  gold.  Unless  all  signs 
mislead,  as  signs  have  already  mis'ed,  not  Cali- 
fornia in  the  days  of  '40,  not  Australia,  nor  the 
prolific  'Rand'  in  South  Africa  should  rank 
with  it. 

"I  venture  to  estimate  the  output  of  gold  for 
the  season  from  the  placers  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of   Dawson  at  $5,000,000.     Some 


"4 


ii^l 


124 


Klondike. 


of  the  enthusiastic  miners  here  say  that  the  prod- 
uct for  the  season  •will  be  nearer  $10,000,000 
than  $5,000,000,  but  I  have  noticed  a  local  incli- 
nation to  brag  and  I  want  to  be  entirely  within 
the  facts  in  any  information  I  send  out  from  this 
camp  of  marvels. 

"Before  this  message  can  reach  the  coast  the 
story  of  the  richness  of  these  gold-laden  placers 
will  be  the  property  of  the  world,  for  by  tl;i.t 
time  the  miners  who  left  here  with  their  bags  cf 
gold  will  have  reached  the  American  cities  with 
their  burdens  of  dust  and  nuggets  to  convince 
the  skeptical. 

"Dawson  has  grown  like  a  mushroom  since  the 
news  of  the  richness  of  the  mines  in  this  neigh- 
borhood reached  the  other  diggings  along  the 
Yukon  and  its  tributaries.  Tlie  present  popu- 
lation of  this  town  is  about  4,000.  Men  are 
streaming  in  as  rapidly  as  t.jeir  legs,  or  the  river 
steamers,  or  horses  will  transport  them.  We  in 
Dawson  lipve  a  notion  that  by  the  close  of  the 
short  summer  season  there  will  be  10,000  people 
in  the  town. 

"And  such  a  town!  It  has  some  of  the  char- 
acteristics of  mining  camps  that  Bret  Harte  has 
made  into  story,  but  it  has  qualities  that  Cali- 
fornia camps  never  had  and  never  could  have. 
The  game  of  life  is  played  fast,  and  the  boisterous 
side  of  mining  camps  is  developing  as  the  popu- 
lation increases.  Now  Dawson  would  match 
Tombstone  when  Tombstone  was  young.  There 
are  gamblers  and  dance  halls  by  the  score, 

"Up  to  this  time  we  have  had  no  men  for 
breakfast.  The  police  surveillance  by  the  Cana- 
dian mounted  force,  and  the   sentiment  of  the 


?      ;  j- 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         125 


camp  sets  against  violence.  But  in  the  new 
population  are  many  tough-looking  fellows,  not 
much  disposed  to  Avork,  and  none  of  us  would  be 
surprised  to  hoar  the  'petulant  pop  of  the  pistol' 
before  Dawson  is  many  days  older. 

"The  principal  source  of  fighting  in  frontier 
mining  camps,  disputes  over  the  possession  of 
claims,  has  been  missing  up  to  this  time  from 
the  Klondike  region.  The  Canadian  mining 
laws  seem  fair,  and  they  are  regarded  and  are  en- 
forced as  well  as  possible  by  the  small  official 
force  representing  the  Dominion  Government. 
A  section  in  the  law  prohibits  a  miner  from  'tak- 
ing up'  more  than  one  claim  in  a  neighborhood. 
This  provision  of  law  leads  to  caution  in  the  se- 
lection of  claims,  and  stops  land-grabbers  from 
controlling  all  the  claims  in  sight. 

"I  do  not  mean  that  all  the  residents  of  Daw- 
son are  willing  to  obey  the  law  merely  because  it 
is  law,  for  I  am  certain  that  many  of  the  men  are 
worrying  their  brains  to  devise  schemes  to  get 
hold  of  a  number  of  claims,  and  would  be  glad 
to  evade  the  rules.  Miners  generally  work  in 
groups,  or  companies,  and  each  member  of  a 
group  has  an  interest  in  all  the  claims  worked 
for  the  joint  account  of  himself  and  companions. 

"But  the  caution  I  have  mentioned  shows  it- 
self in  the  big  population  of  the  town.  There  is 
no  good  reason  that  so  many  should  be  here,  ex- 
cept this  provision  of  law,  restricting  a  man  to 
one  'location.'  AVhen  a  miner  has  'only  one 
rattle  out  of  the  box'  he  takes  time  before  mak- 
ing his  throw.  Therefore  Dawson  is  a  base  of 
operations  for  men  who  go  out  from  this  center 
on  prospecting  trips. 


II 

I 

?r  ■ 


■  u 


126 


Klondike. 


<<r 


m 


'  • 


i  1 


t 


ii 


'There  are  no  openings  here  for  newcomers  to 
locate  chiims  along  any  of  the  creeks  where  gold 
placers  are  known  to  exist.  All  the  claims  on 
the  'good  ground'  in  this  immediate  vicinity 
have  been  taken  up.  A  stranger  has  to  get  out 
and  prospect  in  places  where  nothing  definite  is 
known,  yet,  of  course,  places  just  as  likely  to 
contain  gold  as  any  of  the  claims  that  have 
yielded  the  big  finds  to  the  miners.  Parties 
leave  here  every  day  on  prospecting  tours. 
When  a  discovery  of  gold  is  reported  crowds 
rush  out  in  frenzy  to  the  place. 

"The  thronging  in  of  men  is  making  an  impor- 
tant change  in  the  prices  paid  for  labor.  Wnile 
provisions  are  dear,  the  price  of  labor  is  going 
down.  I  have  known  a  laborer  to  get  $20  a  day 
for  his  toil,  but  that  price  was  not  paid  to  every 
man.  The  indication  now  is  that  many  men 
who  must  have  food  and  clothing  will  crowd  the 
town,  and  that  the  rate  of  wages  will  fall  to  the 
cost  of  subsistence.     Flour  is  $6  a  sack. 

"The  weather  h  intensely  disagreeable.  The 
mercury  has  stood  87  degrees  for  two  hours  in 
the  shade,  and  this  is  morning.  And  there  are 
mosquitoes,  millions  and  millions  of  mosquitoes — 
voracious  as  wharf  rats,  fiercely  stinging.  They 
contribute  to  the  discomforts  of  living  on  the 
Klondike. 

"Many  prospectors  are  seeking  the  quartz 
ledges,  the  parents  of  the  supply  of  gold  found 
in  the  placers  along  the  banks  of  the  streams.  I 
suppose  there  must  be  such  ledges,  but  this  coun- 
try IS  rough  and  exploration  is  perilous.  Not 
many  men  care  to  venture  further  than  sixty 
miles  in  the  unexplored  regions. 


't. 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         127 

"Gold  in  one  form  or  another  has  been  found 
along  a  belt  nearly  300  miles  long.  By  the  close 
of  the  season  much  more  will  be  known  of  the 
character  of  this  belt,  for  the  prospecting  going 
on  is  thorough,  the  circumstances  and  popula- 
tion considered,  and  more  definite  information 
should  result. 

"When  I  can  send  a  trustworthy  report  for 
the  guidance  of  persons  contemplating  a  trip  to 
the  Yukon  next  spring,  I  shall  hurry  it  down. 
Just  now  not  much  that  is  definite  can  be  said  to 
persons  not  on  the  ground,  because  of  the  ab- 
sence of  available  openings  for  stakes  in  any 
district  known  to  be  worth  working." 

The  following  was  penned  by  a  Baker  City, 
Oregon,  man: 

"Circle  City,  Alaska,  Feb.  6. 

"Dear  Mac:  Your  letter  of  September  6, 
1896,  reached  here  to-day  through  the  transpor- 
tation medium  of  a  dog  team  from  Juneau. 
There  are  about  600  whites  wintering  here,  in- 
cluding five  women.  The  nativity  of  the  popu- 
lation is  about  evenly  divided  between  the  Amer- 
ican, the  Canadian  and  the  Tacoma  man.  The 
American  and  Canadian  take  life  as  it  comes,  but 
the  poor  Tacomaite  seems  lost.  He  wanders 
around  in  a  dazed  sort  of  way,  evidently  looking 
up  a  terminal  site  for  the  Northern  Pacific  Bail- 
road. 

"We  had  quite  a  visit  from  old  Boreas  last 
month.  He  made  a  stay  of  ten  days  with  us, 
and  while  he  frowned  we  hunted  cover.  The 
thermometers  all  froze  up.     The  last  one  went 


128 


Klondike. 


I  ■.' 


i 
1 


I 


to  pieces  registering  73  degrees  below  zero.  A 
bottle  of  pain  killer  I  possessed,  and  the  only  one 
in  camp,  Avas  as  solid  as  my  views  on  the  financial 
question.  The  whisky  that  was  called  for  in 
saloons  was  served  on  a  napkin  and  doled  out  in 
solid  four-cornered  chunks.  As  a  safeguard 
against  the  invasions  of  the  atmosphere  from  the 
Pole  we  are  blessed  with  good  warm  cabins  and 
plenty  of  provisions  of  the  following  kinds:  We 
nave  the  choicest  slabs  from  the  two  sides  of  the 
fat  porkers  that  were  converted  into  bacon  for 
army  purposes  during  the  later  American  rebel- 
lion; we  have  strawberries  in  three  varieties — the 
navy,  the  pink  and  the  brown.  We  have  the 
evaporated  fruit,  put  up  in  several  different 
boxes;  and  you  put  a  few  pounds  from  any  box 
into  a  pail  of  water,  boil  for  several  hours,  then 
rip  up  your  imagination  and  sit  down  to  a  dish 
of  boiled  peaches,  pears,  prunes,  apples  or  apri- 
cots; we  have  also  the  steaks  that  Cudahy  & 
Armour  deliver  to  the  hungry  public  in  two- 
pound  cans;  we  have  also  the  tripe  and  the  ox 
tongue.  We  have  the  one  X  brand  of  flour,  war- 
ranted to  be  easily  distinguished  from  the  white 
snow.  We  have  the  essence  of  the  cow  con- 
densed. We  have  the  peelings  of  the  onion  put 
up  in  round  cans  and  labeled  'Expressly  for  the 
Yukon  trade.' 

'*We  have  the  lard  from  the  oil  wells  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  the  butter  from  the  stockyards  of 
Chicago.  We  have  the  ground  coffee  put  up  in 
original  packages  without  a  brand  or  trademark 
to  identify  the  owners  or  manufacturers.  The 
texture  of  this  coffee  is  very  delicate,  and  when 
you  boil  you  have  no  grounds  for  complaint,  or 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         129 


to  throw  out.  We  have  a  tea — a  new  discovery 
that  has  not  yet  reached  the  Eastern  epicures; 
you  put  a  heaping  handful  in  one  quart  of  boil- 
ing water  and  in  live  minutes  you  will  have 
brewed  a  pale  green  fluid,  a  small  cupful  of 
which  will  satisfy  for  many  days  the  hankerings 
and  cravings  of  the  most  confirmed  tea  drinker. 

"We  have  the  hotel  and  restaurant  in  bur- 
lesque. Every  man  is  his  own  chief  cook  and 
chambermaid.  For  diversion  we  have  the  woes 
of  others.  For  acquiring  knowledge  we  have 
the  stars  to  read,  and  for  meditation  we  try  to 
solve  God's  reason  for  putting  a  gateway  into 
this  useless  country. 

"However,  we  are  happy  in  our  isolation. 
There  is  a  sort  of  freedom  in  living  here  that  is 
agreeable.  The  conventionalists  of  life  have  no 
claims  upon  me.  I  am  beholden  to  no  one  and 
no  one  to  me.  As  free  as  the  wind  to  come  and 
go,  work  or  play,  sing  or  howl.  The  pinnacle  of 
my  hopes,  aspirations  and  desires  is  realized  in 
that  ecstatic  moment  when,  filled  to  the  chin 
with  bacon  and  beans,  I  recline  at  my  ease  on  the 
sunny  side  of  a  glacier  and  contemplate  life 
through  the  hazy,  somnolent  contentment  of  a  full 
stomach  without  a  care  to  oppress  me. 

"Circle  City  is  just  now  deserted,  everybody 
is  up  at  Klondike,  or  preparing  to  go  soon. 
Klondike  River  is  over  200  miles  up  the  Yukon 
from  here,  and  gold  was  found  on  it  a  few 
months  ago.  It  is  the  richest  district  the  world 
has  ever  known,  and  will  produce  millions  this 
year.  I  returned  here  from  the  Klondike  yes- 
terday for  grub  and  start  back  to-morrow. 
Flour  is  worth  $100  per  sack  of  fifty  pounds,  and 


1»^^ 


I 


130 


Klondike. 


;ili 


I'li 


1 

i 

'  1 

1 
1 

i 
i 

i   1 

1  ■ 

it  Nil 

I'  ill! 

r; 

i.' 

1 

Mi 

1 

! 

i 

1    '-     :,1       :iil      ' 

yyi 

everything  else  in  proportion,  and  none  to  be 
bought.  Live  dogs  are  worth  from  12  to  %b  per 
pound;  they  are  the  horses  in  this  country. 

''The  gravel  is  frozen  from  eighteen  to  twenty 
feet  deep  to  bedrock,  but  we  burn  a  shaft  down 
and  then  drift,  using  fire  instead  of  powder.  The 
gravel  runs  in  gold  from  S5  to  $150  per  pan,  and 
a  young  fellow  on  a  claim  above  me  panned  out 
$40,000  in  two  days.  I  was  offered  $25,000  cash 
for  my  claim.  I  still  hold  the  ground,  and  will 
be  either  a  millionaire  or  a  pauper  in  the  fall. 
Men  cannot  be  hired  for  wages.  Every  new- 
comer in  the  camp  is  offered  big  wages,  as  high 
as  $50  a  day,  but  seldom  will  any  one  work  for 
another.  The  only  phantom  that  stands  in  our 
way  to  the  goal  of  the  millionaire  is  Mr.  Grub. 
I  have  provisions  enough  to  last  me  until  next 
June,  and  I  am  as  well  fixed  as  any  man  in  the 
country.  If  the  boats  do  not  get  up  the  river 
before  July  we  will  be  in  rather  hard  lines,  but 
as  one  cannot  help  his  ills  by  wailing  them,  we 
will  look  cheerful  and  feel  certain  that  grub  will 
be  plentiful  next  year." 

Returned  Yukonites  deny  the  story  told  by 
Frank  Moss,  of  Great  Falls,  Montana,  to  the  effect 
that  2,000  graves  at  Foty-Mile  Post  tell  of  the 
terrible  sufferings  of  the  gold  seekers.  F.  0. 
Bowker  says  that  so  far  from  there  being  over 
3,000  deaths  on  the  Klondike  during  the  past 
three  years,  there  was  nobody  there  to  die  until 
something  less  than  a  year  ago,  and  since  then 
there  have  been  but  three  deaths  in  that  whole 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         131 

district  so  far  as  known.  In  the  graveyard  at 
Forty-Mile  Post,  which  has  served  for  all  that 
Boction  for  some  years  past,  there  are  only  be- 
tween thirty  and  forty  graves. 

Mr.  Ogilvie,  the  Dominion  surveyor  in  chargt 
of  the  district,  in  a  report  to  the  Dominion  Gov- 
ernment complains  sorely  of  the  need  of  some 
kind  of  a  court  to  settle  the  various  claim  dis- 
putes that  are  continually  arising  between  the 
miners.  He  says  that  the  force  and  virtue  of 
miners'  meetings  prevailed  until  the  mounted 
police  made  thoir  apppearance,  after  which 
sneaks  had  full  swing. 

The  morality  of  the  Klondike  would  seem  to 
be  of  much  higher  order  than  is  usually  found  in 
new  mining  camps,  the  presence  of  the  mounted 
police  seeming  to  have  a  most  salutary  effect.  Mr. 
Ogilvie  seems  to  regret  it,  for  he  says: 

**The  man  who  was  stabbed  here  in  November 
has  quite  recovered,  but  may  never  have  the 
same  use  of  his  back  as  of  old,  having  received  a 
bad  cut  there.  His  assailant  is  out  on  bail, 
awaiting  the  entrance  of  a  :'udge  to  try  him.  As 
the  police  are  here  there  will  be  no  lynching;  it 
is  almost  a  pity  there  will  not." 

Mr.  Ogilvie  takes  up  the  subject  of  the  liquor 
traffic  also,  saying:  "The  impression  of  the  best 
men  here,  saloon  men  and  all,  is  that  the  liquor 
trade  should  bo  regulatd,  that  no  one  but  respon- 


?-i 


•l' 

11 

j! 

1        ''i 

132 


Klondilce. 


mm 


i 


a  Sll 


I!    I 


! 


1'   I 

I''; 


l 


nil  I 

!S  ■ 


llli 

''•■ 

■ 

2            ■ 

I '    ^ 

ill 

i' 

siblo  parties  should  bo  allowed  to  bring  liquor  in 
— men  in  business  here  of  ostablislied  reputation 
and  having  an  interest  in  the  country  and  the 
retail  traffic — licensed  as  in  the  Eastern  prov- 
inces, giving  licenses  to  men  of  fair  character 
only.  Now  any  loafer  who  can  gather  enough 
money  to  secure  a  few  gallons  and  a  few  glasses, 
and  v/ants  to  have  an  idle  time,  sets  up  a  saloon. 
It  is  my  opinion  that  it  is  imperative  that  the  busi- 
ness be  brought  under  control  at  once,  or  it  may 
develop  phases  that  will  be  at  least  annoying  in 
the  future." 

An  eyewitness  says  of  the  scenes  in  Dawson 
City: 

"Dawson  City,  N.  W.  T.,  June  17,  1897. 
**P.  Brown. 

"Dear  Sir:  You  request  me  to  inform  you  all 
I  could  on  the  country,  and  I  will  tell  you  of  it 
as  it  really  is.  We  arrived  safe  and  sound.  We 
caught  up  with,  and  passed,  nearly  all  who  went 
over  the  sur  .head  of  us.     We  have  been  out 

and  seen  +'  .es.     There  are  mines  here  that 

have  <•'  ..c  $150,000  last  winter  to  150  feet 

of  the         .m. 

"Thio  jeems  hard  to  believe;  but  when  you  see 
coal  oil  cans  with  more  gold  in  them  tlian  you 
can  lift,  baking  powder  cans  and  pickle  jars  full 
to  the  brim,  you  begin  to  believe  the  marvelous 
stories. 

"Work  is  not  so  plentiful  now  as  it  is  during 
the  winter  diggings.  Wages  are  $10  a  day  at 
Dawson  City,  and  $15  out  at  the  mines.    Flour 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seehcrs.         133 


is  %Q  a  sack,  sugar,  25  cents  a  pound;  bacon,  70 
cents;  eggs,  ^4  per  dozen.  Clothing  is  still 
dearer  in  proportion.  Good  stoves  and  tents  are 
hard  to  got  at  any  price.  They  say  work  will  bo 
more  plentiful  next  winter. 

* 'Three  steamboats  have  been  up  here  this 
spring,  so  there  are  lots  of  provisions  now. 
Dawson  City  is  growing  fast,  although  it  is  all 
tents  yet.  Lots  sell  from  $100  to  $8,000.  If  too 
many  scab  hands  come  in  it  will  cut  wages,  but 
it  is  all  right  now. 

"There  is  plenty  of  prospecting  going  on  this 
summer.  Men  are  striking  out  in  all  directions. 
You  said  if  you  could  be  sure  of  $10  a  day  you 
would  come  up.  A  man  is  sure  of  nothing,  out 
if  he  is  willing  to  take  the  hardships  he  is  bound 
to  get  more  or  less  of  it.  A  number  of  women 
came  over  the  trail  this  spring.  All  of  them 
that  are  willing  to  cook  can  sell  all  the  bread 
they  can  cook  at  fifty  cents  a  loaf.  Meals  are 
$1.50. 

"That  claim  of  J.  O'Donnell's  is  on  Forty-Mile 
River  at  Poker  Gulch.  He  sold  his  share  last 
summer  to  Philip  Kenijey.  Fred  Hart  and  Bill 
Hase  were  his  partners,  and  it  ir  still  owned  by 
them.  R.  Crawford  got  beat  oit  of  his  claim 
that  he  bought  of  Kelly  in  Seattle. 

"If  you  come  up,  bring  light  things,  as  there 
is  more  profit  in  them.  We  hear  that  it  is  al- 
most impossible  to  get  the  river  boats  to  bring  up 
freight,  as  they  have  more  of  their  own  than 
they  can  handle.  Look  this  up,  and  if  you  are 
sure  you  can  get  through  with  freight  bring  all 
you  can  of  first-class  articles,  and  you  will  have 
good  use  or  ready  sale  for  them  at  once. 

"W.  R.  GOODB." 


4 


V     ' 


■■    '! 


Ill 


If!! 


( 


Ml 


i:i 


II 


134 


Klondike. 


"P.S. — I  hear  thatR.  Crawford  has  the  matter 
decided  in  his  favor  at  last,  and  got  his  share  of 
the  claim  he  bought  of  Kelly,  and  Kelly  leaves 
for  Seattle  to-day  on  the  boat.  I  think  he  is  go- 
ing to  try  to  boom  the  country  for  the  benefit  of 
the  mine  holders  to  get  cheap  labor.  That  is,  as 
I  see  things,  and  I  think  it  is  right.  There  is 
lots  of  money  here,  and  where  there  is  lots  of  it 
a  man  certainly  can  get  a  little.  Please  excuse 
mistakes  and  dirt,  as  I  am  seated  on  the  ground, 
writing  on  my  knee,  and  fighting  mosquitoes." 

A  lady  correspondent  states: 

^'Klondike,  B.  N.  W.,  June  14,  1897. 

"We  arrived  at  our  destination  the  11th  of 
this  month,  our  outfit  in  good  shape  and  all  well. 
We  were  just  three  months  to  the  day  on  the 
trail.  Everybody  was  dumfounded  at  the  dis- 
covery— the  biggest  that  has  ever  been  made. 
Just  think  of  it — $1,000  to  the  pan.  Wages  are 
$15  a  day,  and  men  are  refusing  every  day  to  go 
to  work  for  that.  Money  is  plenty,  and  all  the 
trading  is  being  done  with  gold  dust.  Harry 
Ash  is  taking  in  $3,000  a  day  in  his  saloon. 
Meals  are  $1.60  each.  A  big  business  is  boing 
done  in  smuggling  whisky  over  the  border. 
The  dogs  are  so  bad  here  that  they  eat  anything 
from  the  tin  cans  to  rubber  boots,  and  it  standa 
a  man  in  hand  to  look  to  his  bacon. 

"I  had  a  pleasant  trip  and  had  few  hardships 
to  encounter.  We  left  so  early  that  we  had 
snow  all  the  way,  but  the  people  that  came  a 
mo^ich  earlier  had  a  pretty  tough  time,  for  they 
had  to  pack  everything,  or  hire  it  done,  and  had 


\ 


i 


i        I' 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         135 

to  endure  more.  The  worst  feature  of  the  coun- 
try is  the  beastly  mosquitoes.  As  far  as  the  trip 
being  dangerous,  that  depends  a  good  deal  on 
the  men.  One  wants  to  get  a  good  boat  made, 
and  with  a  map  all  is  clear  sailing  in  the  right 
season. 

"There  is  another  stampede  on  up  a  creek 
near  here.  The  excitement  is  at  a  fever's  height 
and  men  are  exploring  every  little  creek  and  hill 
in  the  country.  These  are  drift  diggings  and  it 
would  not  surprise  me  if  there  were  better  dig- 
gings struck  during  the  summer. 

'*The  Indians  here  cannot  speak  much  English. 
All  they  can  say  is  'sugar.'  We  could  have  got 
a  whole  mine,  or  'lecraboo,'  for  twenty  pounds  of 
sugar.     The  moose  and  caribou  are  fine  eating. 

"The  place  is  very  orderly,  considering  the  big 
rush.  There  is  a  fort  or  military  post  about 
twenty-five  or  thirty  miles  from  here,  with  lots  of 
her  majesty's  soldiers,  but  we  don't  need  them. 
The  theaters,  dance  halls,  and  gambling  houses 
are  doing  the  biggest  business  here  and  scoop  in 
most  of  the  money." 

Joseph  Ladue,  the  owner  of  the  land  upon 
which  Dawson  City  has  been  built,  has  visited 
his  native  town,  Plattsburg,  New  York,  this  sum- 
mer, and  in  the  course  of  an  interview  he  said: 

"We  have  nicer  bars  at  Dawson  than  you  have 
here.  One  of  the  bars  there  cost  $750  right  in 
San  Francisco.  The  day  I  left  Dawson  my  im- 
pression of  the  town  was  that  it  would  become  a 
great  big  place.  When  I  came  away  there  were 
probably  close  on  to  3,000  people  there.     I  think 


mi. 


"t  II 


1^'^  1.1 


I 


m 


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i 

•;■  '•■                 1 

i 

1 

i                      1 

perhaps  of  these  seventy-five  were  women.  A 
good  many  of  the  women  were  wives  of  the  men 
who  came,  forty  or  fifty. 

"The  dance  hall  was  owned  by  Harry  Ash.  It 
is  40x80,  a  frame  building  covered  with  white 
drilling.  They  have  an  orchestra.  There  may 
be  fifteen  or  twenty  women  the^-e.  There  is  no 
admission  fee.  You  just  go  in  and  dance  and 
patronize  the  establishment.  Everything  is  fifty 
cents  a  drink.  The  women  get  a  percentage  of 
the  receipts  for  dancing  with  the  miners.  Fre- 
quently when  the  miners  feel  flush,  they  give  the 
women  nuggets. 

"When  I  left  Dawson  there  were  ten  saloons 
and  only  three  restaurants.  They  charge  $1.50 
for  a  meal,  which  consists  of  bacon,  beans,  bread, 
coffee,  a  piece  of  cheese,  and  dried  fruit.  The 
restaurants  were  well  patronized.  They  sold 
everything  they  could  rake  or  scrape.  Bacon  was 
$1  a  pound,  eggs  as  high  as  $5  a  dozen  in  the 
winter.  Flour  is  $13  a  hundred  pounds;  sugar, 
20  cents  for  brown,  and  25  cents  for  granulated. 
Butter  is  $1.50  a  roll. 

"Tobacco  sells  for  $1.50  a  pound — chewing 
and  fancy  brands  for  smoki  ^ — plug  cut  is  $2  a 
pound;  cigars  wholesale  sell  there  for  $90  to 
$150  per  1,000;  a  single  cigar  is  50  cents.  It 
would  sell  here  for  five  cents. 

"There  are  lots  of  children  up  there  now.    An 


t-i 


I 


A  Mamial  for  Gold  Seekers.         137 

immense  lot  of  children  came  in  this  spring. 
There  is  a  school  at  Circle  City,  and  one  is  being 
built  in  Dawson  this  year.  The  teacher  in  Circle 
City — which  is  near  the  Arctic  circle  and  the 
furthest  city  north — was  an  American  from  Neb- 
raska. I  don't  know  what  her  name  was,  or 
what  pay  she  got — probably  $75  a  month. 

"There  were  no  churches  in  Dawson  up  to 
this  time.  There  will  be  a  Catholic  church  built 
this  summer.  There  will  probably  be  also  an 
English  church  and  a  Presbyterian  church  too. 
Bishop  Eowe,  of  Boston,  has  the  latter  in 
charge.  Father  Judge  was  there  when  1  came 
away. 

"There  is  a  theatrical  company  in  that  dis- 
trict. It  has  been  playing  at  Circle  City.  The 
leading  actor  and  manager  of  it  is  George  Snow. 
His  wife  is  the  leading  lady.  They  are  real 
good.  They  have  all  sorts  of  plays — *Uucle 
Tom's  Cabin'  one  night,  *01d  Kentucky'  the 
next,  'Camille'  the  next,  'The  Newsboy'  the  next. 
It  is  a  repertory  company.  They  will  have  a 
theater  in  Dawson  this  winter. 

"We  have  Dr.  Willis,  a  Canadian  physician;  Dr. 
Chambers,  from  Yakima,  Washington.  I  think 
they  charge  according  to  the  way  a  man  is  fixed. 
I  know  one  man  got  a  finger  taken  oil  and  was 
charged  $200  for  the  job.  These  doctrrs  have 
complete  medicine  chests.  There  is  no  drug 
store  except  what  Dr.  Willis  has. 


11 


138 


Klondike. 


\ 


m 

IK'!  I' 


"We  have  a  graveyard  started  and  two  graves 
in  it.  One  is  that  of  Bert  Stickney,  who  died  a 
natural  death  on  Lake  Labarge,  and  the  other  is 
that  of  0.  G.  Felch,  who  died  of  heart  disease  in 
the  room  over  my  office.  We  had  service  over 
these  men,  conducted  by  a  Church  of  England 
man. 

*'There  was  a  lawyer's  office  started  just  before 
I  left  by  two  Seattle  lawyers.  I  do  not  remem- 
ber hearing  that  any  babies  were  born  in  Dawson 
bv^fore  I  left. 

''The  diggings  are  up  the  Klondike  to  the 
east  of  Dawson  City.  They  begin  within  two 
miles  of  the  town  site,  and  extend  twenty  miles 
at  least  on  both  sides  of  the  Klondike  River. 
The  district  is  about  twenty  miles  square — that 
is,  the  gold-bearing  district  where  the  placer 
miners  are. 

''The  whole  country  for  twenty  miles  between 
the  Yukon  and  the  Klondike,  up  to  the  point 
where  Dawson  is  situated,  is  composed  of  creeks, 
and  all  along  these  claims  are  staked  out. 

**The  people  who  go  there  now  will  have  to 
look  for  new  fields.  Pretty  nearly  all  of  the 
Klondike  has  been  monopolized,  and  nearly  all 
the  claims  taken  up.  From  there  they  will  have 
to  go  in  an  easterly  direction  to  the  Stuart 
River.  That  is  about  100  miles  east,  and  is  the 
nearest  district  in  which  there  is  any  promise  of 
gold  development,  and  it  is  uncertain. 


i 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         139 


"The  Chilkoot  Pass  is  not  dangerous  in  the 
summer  time.  It  is  a  defile  in  the  mountains 
about  thirty  miles  long,  with  just  an  Indian  trail 
leading  up  to  the  summit.  In  the  winter  the 
danger  lies  in  the  storms  which  are  liable  to 
overtake  the  traveler. 

"Men  can  cr^ss  that  pass  with  as  little  danger 
in  the  summer  as  they  can  cross  any  other  moun- 
tain pass.  If  you  turn  a  horse  loose  on  the  trail 
he  will  walk  over  himself.  I  never  heard  of  any- 
body starving  to  death  on  the  Chilkoot  route.  I 
have  heard  of  their  being  lost.  I  never  heard  of 
their  dying  of  hardship.  In  the  winter  time  the 
United  States  station  has  mail  every  month. 

"I  do  not  think  the  company's  boats  can  bring 
supplies  into  Dawson  for  more  than  3,000  men. 
There  are  probably  5,000  there  now,  and  more 
going." 

Heretofore  mails  have  been  somewhat  infre- 
quent and  slightly  irregular  in  the  Yukon  postal 
district,  but  they  will  doubtless  be  managed  in  a 
much  more  satisfactory  way  this  winter.  In 
view  of  the  great  number  of  American  citizens 
who  have  gone  or  contemplate  going  to  the  Klon- 
dike gold  fields  in  Alaska,  the  post-office  depart- 
ment has  made  additional  contracts  for  the 
carrying  of  mails  to  and  from  that  region. 

Since  July  1  contracts  for  mail  over  what  is 
known  as  the  overland  route  from  Juneau  to 


\  .'.■ 


I:'  I 


iilllf 


I 


140 


Klondike. 


m 


iHI 


Circle  City  have  been  made  by  the  department. 
The  round  trip  over  the  Chilkoot  Pass,  and  by 
way  of  the  chain  of  lakes  and  the  Lewis  River, 
takes  about  a  month,  the  distance  being  about 
900  miles.  The  department  has  just  been  noti- 
fied by  the  contractor's  agent  that  a  party  will 
start  reg'^.larly  twice  each  month.  The  cost 
is  about  $000  for  the  round  trip.  The  Chil- 
koot Pass  is  crossed  with  the  mail  by  means  of 
Indian  carriers.  On  the  previous  trips  the  car- 
riers, after  finishing  the  pass,  built  their  boats, 
but  they  now  have  their  own  to  pass  the  lakes 
and  the  Lewis  River. 

In  the  winter  transportation  is  carried  on  by 
means  of  dogsleds,  and  it  is  hoped  that  under 
the  present  contracts  there  will  be  no  stoppage, 
no  matter  how  low  the  temperature  may  go. 
The  contractor  has  reported  that  he  was  sending 
a  boat  in  sections  by  way  of  St.  Michael,  up  the 
Yukon  River,  to  be  used  on  the  waterway  of  the 
route,  and  it  is  thought  much  time  will  be  saved 
by  this  next  spring,  as  formerly  it  was  necessary 
for  the  carriers  to  stop  and  build  boats  or  rafts 
to  pass  the  lakes. 

Contracts  have  been  made  with  two  steamboat 
companies  for  two  trips  from  Seattle  to  St. 
Michael.  When  the  steamers  reach  St.  Michael, 
the  mail  will  be  transferred  to  the  flat-bottomed 
boats  running  up  the  Yukon  as  far  as  Circle 


>  ■ 


lu 


I. 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.  141 

City.  It  is  believed  the  boats  now  run  further 
up. 

The  contracts  for  the  overland  route  call  for 
only  first-class  matter,  whereas  the  steamers  in 
summer  carry  everything,  up  to  five  tons,  each 
trip. 

Mr.  J.  A.  French,  of  the  District  Engineering 
Corps,  and  a  member  of  the  United  States  Coast 
and  Geodetic  Survey  Expedition  which  made 
such  a  thorough  tour  of  the  Alasica  gold  fields, 
during  the  years  1889-90  and  '91  when  locating 
the  141st  meridian,  was  asked  if  there  was  much 
chance  of  the  expeditions  which  are  leaving  the 
country  in  August  reaching  the  Yukon  in  time 
to  ascend  the  river  before  ice  forms. 

"There  is  very  little  chance  that  they  can  do 
so,''  said  Mr.  French.  "Of  course  there  is  a 
possibility  that  the  river  may  close  late  this  year, 
and  thus  give  them  an  opportunity  of  getting 
through,  but  this  is  a  matter  of  conjecture  only, 
and  the  majority  of  persons  who  are  leaving  for 
the  far  North  at  the  present  time  will  be  obliged 
to  winter  at  St.  Michael.  Those  going  by  way 
of  the  Chilkoot  Pass  will  be  more  successful 
about  getting  through,  as  it  is  but  a  short  dis- 
tance comparatively  from  Seattle,  and  can  be 
traversed  before  the  pass  closes  in  the  middle  of 
September.  The  ice  forms  early  on  the  Yukon, 
jind  that  cuts  off  communication  with  the  Klon- 
dike. 


w 


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142 


Klondike. 


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Hi  pi 


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"Of  course  communication  is  possible  by 
sledges,  but  that  is  only  of  nominal  use,  and  is 
scarcely  to  be  termed  a  means  of  transportation. 
And  then  again  the  latter  part  of  September  and 
the  early  portion  of  October  are  the  dangerous 
periods  for  travel  in  that  region.  There  is  very 
little  snow,  and  what  snow  there  is  usually  falls 
during  this  period.  Then  it  bcomes  so  cold  that 
snowing  becomes  impossible,  and  until  March 
the  miners  and  settlers  in  the  Klondike  will  be 
troubled  with  no  other  snowfall.  Instead  of 
snow  there  is  a  daily  fall  of  frost,  which  gradually 
increases  the  depth  of  the  light  snow  which 
falls  in  the  early  fall,  but  scarcely  in  a  quantity 
to  exceed  six  inches.  The  frost  falls  contin- 
ually, and  the  air  is  always  filled  with  it.  The 
frost  gradually  aguments  the  previous  light 
snowfall,  and  before  the  snows  of  the  spring  be- 
gin have  increased  the  depth  of  the  snow  to 
about  eighteen  inches. 

'*The  cold  reaches  an  extremity  which  is  al- 
most impossible  for  us  to  realize,  but  the  condi- 
tions of  the  atmosphere  are  such  that  the  suffer- 
ing is  not  great  in  proportion.  The  Indians  of 
the  region  have,  to  a  greet  extent,  solved  the 
difficult  question  of  keeping  warm.  They  build 
log  cabins,  which  are  closed  as  tightly  as  mud 
and  lichens  can  make  them.  They  leave  no 
space  for  a  door,  as  that  would  facilitate  the  en- 


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A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.  143 

trance  of  cold;  instead  they  follow  out  a  plan  of 
the  Esquimaux  and  begin  an  entrance  some  dis- 
tance from  the  hut.  Down  in  the  ground  they 
dig  a  passage  until  it  feaches  underneath  the 
center  of  the  cabin,  when  the  passage  is  directed 
upward,  and  the  Indian  finishes  his  door  in  the 
center  of  the  house. 

** There  is  a  larger  natural  food  supply  than 
the  majority  of  people  imagine.  A  miner  who 
enters  the  region  in  the  spring  could  well  supply 
his  needs  for  the  following  winter.  The  river 
lands  are  filled  with  a  species  of  cranberry,  which 
is  as  palatable  as  the  berries  of  our  own  Massa- 
chusetts. The  berries  are  very  small  and  tart, 
but  are  vastly  superior  to  the  ordinary  Christmas- 
time berry,  and  can  be  kept  during  the  entire 
season.  Then  also  the  Yukon  Valley  is  in  the 
line  of  the  moose  and  caribou  trails,  over  which 
the  animals  travel  on  their  way  to  the  north  or 
south  at  diiferent  periods  of  the  year,  and  it  is 
possible  for  a  hunter  to  supply  himself  with 
meat  which  can  be  frozen  and  kept  in  perfect 
condition  until  summer  again. 

"The  great  river  is  alive  with  salmon  also, 
some  of  which  reach  an  enormous  size.  One 
catch  of  five  salmon  which  I  saw  while  there 
averaged  fifty-four  pounds  to  a  fish.  The  largest 
one  was  a  beauty,  and  weighed  exactly  seventy- 
four   pounds.    The  Indians   catch    these  fish, 


m\ 


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144 


Klondike. 


W 


string  them  on  a  pole  and  throw  them  on  the 
top  of  their  huts  to  freeze.  Then  during  the 
winter  when  they  wish  one,  they  go  out  and 
bring  it  into  the  warm  cabin.  The  heat  grad- 
ually thaws  it  until  it  is  to  some  degree  soft. 
Then  they  eat  it  with  as  much  gusto,  and  appar- 
ently as  much  pleasure,  as  we  would  cat  ico 
cream,  and  there  is  nothing  frozen  fish  resembles 
more  than  ice  cream.  They  are  of  a  delicate 
pink  color,  which  in  the  frozen  state  of  the  fish 
is  as  exact  a  counterfeit  as  one  could  imagine." 

John  Muir,  the  California  naturalist  and  dis- 
coverer of  the  great  Muir  glacier,  writes  of  the 
''The  Alaska  Trip"  in  the  Midsummer  Holiday 
(August)  Century.  Of  Fort  Wrangel,  Mr.  Muir 
writes: 

**0n  the  arrival  of  the  steamer  most  of  the 
passengers  make  haste  to  go  ashore  to  see  r'he  curi- 
ous totem-poles  in  front  of  the  massive  timber 
houses  of  the  Indians,  and  to  buy  curiosities, 
chiefly  silver  bracelets  hammered  from  dollars 
and  half-dollars,  and  tastefully  engraved  by 
Indian  workmen;  blankets  better  than  those  of 
civilization,  woven  from  the  wool  of  wild  goats 
and  sheep;  carved  spoons  from  the  horns  of  these 
animals;  Shamen  rattles,  miniature  totem-poles, 
canoes,  paddles,  stone  hatchets,  pipes,  baskets, 
etc.  The  traders  in  these  curious  wares  are 
mostly  women  and  children,  who  gather  on  the 


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A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.  145 


front  platforms  of  the  half-dozen  stores,  sitting 
on  their  blankets  seemingly  careless  whether 
they  sell  anything  or  not,  every  other  face  black- 
ened hideously,  a  naked  circle  about  the  eyes 
and  on  the  tip  of  the  nose  w^ere  the  smut  has 
been  weathered  off.  The  lai^er  girls  and  the 
young  women  are  brilliantly  arrayed  in  ribbons 
and  calico,  and  shining  among  the  blackened 
and  blanketed  old  crones  like  scarlet  tanagers  in 
a  flock  of  blackbirds.  Besides  curiosities,  most 
of  them  have  berries  to  sell,  red,  yellow,  and 
blue,  fresh  and  dewy,  and  looking  wondrous 
clean  as  compared  with  the  people.  The  Indians 
are  proud  and  intelligent  nevertheless,  and 
maintain  an  air  of  self-respect  which  no  amount 
of  raggedness  and  squalor  can  wholly  subdue. 

"Many  canoes  may  be  seen  along  the  shore, 
all  fashioned  alike,  with  long,  beak-like  sterns 
and  prows,  the  largest  carrying  twenty  or  thirty 
persons.  What  the  mustang  is  to  the  Mexican 
vaquero,the  canoe  is  to  the  Indian  of  the  Alaskan 
coast.  They  skim  over  the  glassy,  sheltered 
waters  far  and  near  to  fish  and  hunt  and  trade, 
or  merely  to  visit  their  neighbors.  Yonder  goes 
a  whole  family,  grandparents  and  all,  the  prow  of 
their  canoe  blithely  decorated  with  handfuls  of 
the  purple  epilobium.  They  are  going  to  gather 
berries,  as  the  baskets  show.  Nowhere  else  in 
my  travels  north  or  south,  have  I  seen  so  many 


m 


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146 


Klondike. 


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berries.  The  woods  and  meadows  and  open 
spaces  along  the  shore  are  full  of  them — huckle- 
berries of  many  species,  salmon  berries,  rasp- 
berries, blackberries,  currants  and  gooseberries, 
with  fragrant  strawberries  and  serviceberries  on 
the  drier  grounds,  and  cranberries  in  the  bogs, 
sufficient  for  every  worm,  bird,  and  human  being 
in  the  Territory,  and  thousands  of  tons  to  spare. 
The  Indians  at  certain  seasons,  roving  in  merry 
lands,  gather  large  quantities,  beat  them  into 
paste,  and  then  press  tha  paste  into  square 
cakes  and  dry  them  for  winter  use,  to  be  eaten 
as  a  kind  of  bread  with  their  oily  salmon.  Ber- 
ries alone  with  the  lavish  bloom  that  belongs  to 
them  are  enough  to  show  how  fine  and  rich  the 
northern  wilderness  must  be.'* 

W.  D.  Yingst,  of  Salt  Lake  City,  two  years 
ago  camped  on  the  spot  where  Dawson  now 
stands.  He  prospected  the  country  for  miles 
about  that  point,  and  took  back  to  Utah  several 
hundred  dollars  in  nuggets,  the  largest  of  which 
weighed  about  an  ounce  and  a  half.  For  the 
benefit  of  those  who  are  contemplating  an  ad- 
venturous trip  to  Alaska,  Yingst  readily  con- 
sented to  give  the  Tribune  of  his  native  city  all 
his  experience  in  the  Klondike. 

"It  was  two  years  ago  that  I  made  the  trip," 
said  he.  "I  want  to  say  before  going  into  do- 
tails  that  it   is  a  dangerous  undertaking,  and 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.  147 

nobody  ought  to  start  out  to  make  it  with  a 
dream  of  sudden  wealth  made  at  one  blow. 
Nobody  who  is  nc  j  in  perfect  health  should 
think  of  venturing  into  that  region.  If  they  do 
they  commit  a  crime  against  themselves  and 
those  who  may  be  dependent  upon  them,  as  well 
as  those  who  are  to  become  their  companions  in 
the  struggle." 

The  warning  was  peculiarly  emphasized  by  a 
casual  survey  of  Yingst's  proportions.  He  is  a 
massively  molded  man,  full  of  animal  vigor  and 
great  endurance.  The  scales  will  tell  in  his 
favor  190  pounds  of  solid  flesh  and  muscle.  His 
cool  and  decisive  manner  in  conversation  lend 
the  conviction  of  a  phlegmatic  temperament,  not 
easily  disturbed  by  hardships  or  danger. 

"liCt  me  explain  why  those  of  delicate  consti- 
tutions should  not  go  to  the  Klondike,"  he  con- 
tinued, "and  why  they  should  not  start  at  this 
time  of  the  year,  especially.  In  the  first  place 
you  need  $1,000  in  capital,  800  to  900  pounds  of 
provisions,  and  everything  necessary  in  the  way 
of  personal  effects.  In  tho  next  place  you  must 
get  into  the  Klondike  before  October  1,  if  you 
have  the  determination  to  stick  it  out.  After 
that  date  an  attempt  to  make  it  is  extremely 
hazardous,  for  the  very  apparent  reason  that  in 
the  face  of  falling  snow  and  frozen  streams  your 
journey  would  become  so  necessarily  slow  that 


W.  I'l 


148 


Kloiidili'e. 


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the  rapid  winter  of  the  Arctic  circle  is  almost 
certain  to  lock  the  traveler  in  its  embrace  and 
cut  off  escape  to  the  coast.  All  of  these  difficul- 
ties require  the  greatest  sort  of  endurance. 

''Nowasto  the  reason  why  it  would  be  a  crime 
to  foist  yourself  upon  a  limited  population  whose 
stores  of  provisions  are  never  wholly  adequate. 
Those  whose  supplies  give  out  before  the  end  of 
the  winter-locked  season  are  dependent  upon 
their  neighbors  whose  better  discretion  has  pro- 
vided for  emergencies.  Every  person  in  the  de- 
plorable fix  that  I  am  describing  cuts  down  the 
total  provisions  of  the  camp  so  much  per  capita 
and  thereby  increases  the  danger  of  starvation, 
for  men  who  are  fighting  with  Nature  to  wrest 
something  from  her  in  the  face  of  adversity  are 
too  generous  to  let  a  fellow  creature  suffer.  Ill- 
ness is  a  hardship  to  those  who  are  in  health,  for 
some  one  must  attend  to  the  wants  of  the  sick 
person,  and  in  the  end  the  convalescent  and  his 
nurse  have  lost  their  time  and  broken  their 
spirits  in  the  mad  rush. 

"It  must  be  recollected  that  civil  authority 
does  not  really  extend  to  these  isolated  points. 
The  law  is  that  made  and  enforced  by  the 
miners.  It  L  my  belief  that  the  same  methods 
adopted  when  I  spent  a  winter  in  that  region 
will  be  put  into  effect  befoie  the  beginning  of 
this  winter.     All  those  who  have  not  provided 


if  '. 
I 


A  2iLanual  for  Gold  Seekers.         149 

themselves  with  enough  to  go  through  the  winter 
will  be  compelled  to  leave  the  camp  by  starting 
back  to  the  coast.  There  will  be  no  choice  in 
the  matter,  either.  It  is  a  question  of  life  or 
death  with  tlie  population  of  Dawson,  and  no 
chances  are  apt  to  be  taken.  If  it  comes  to  a 
serious  situation  among  those  who  remain  the 
provisions  of  the  camp  Avill  probably  be  called 
into  a  general  storehouse,  and  every  man  and 
woman  be  given  their  allowance  in  common. 
There  will  be  no  use  of  kicking  in  that  country; 
every  one  must  abide  by  the  will  of  the  majority. 
"Travel  overland  in  Alaska,  while  confined  to 
the  level,  can  best  be  made  in  the  fall  of  the 
year,  not  later  than  October  1.  The  ground  has 
hardened  then,  giving  admirable  footing  and 
quick  travel.  At  no  time  during  the  winter  does 
more  than  two  feet  of  snow  fall  in  the  level 
country.  I  am  not  speaking  of  the  fall  in  the 
mountains,  which  is  unspeakable.  Temperature 
is  not  a  serious  thing  if  you  are  clothed  accord- 
ing to  the  fashion  of  the  country.  The  summer 
season  is  no  time  to  travel  overland.  We  had 
some  experience  in  that  line  while  prospecting. 
The  whole  surface  is  covered  with  a  species  of 
moss  )out  eight  inches  thick,  and  beneath  it 
ground  that  was  thawed  for  about  eighteen 
inches.  Every  foot  of  the  march  you  sink  to  the 
knee,  impeding  progress  and  consuming  provi- 


!  ,■■• !. 


150 


Klondike. 


iW(3? ; 


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sions  at  the  same  time.  These  conditions  of  the 
surface  also  make  prospecting  more  favorable  in 
the  winter  season.  We  burned  holes  through 
the  frozen  ground  and  began  our  sluicing. 
Water  has  to  be  reached  through  the  ice,  but 
there  is  an  abundant  flow.  I  might  add  that  the 
summer  weather  is  intolerably  hot. 

"Clothing  is  an  important  thing  to  consider. 
Three  suits  of  underwear  of  the  fleece-lined 
variety  are  imperative.  Ilip  rubber  boots,  at 
least  two  pairs  ought  to  be  taken,  and  besides  a 
heavy  canvas  coat  lined  with  fleece.  Ordinarily 
coarse,  heavy  outside  wear  is  sufficient.  Fur- 
lined  mits  and  warm  caps  are  also  necessary.'* 

Will  Rowles,  bookkeeper  for  the  Chattanooga 
Brewing  Company,  has  just  received  an  interest- 
ing letter  from  Ben  Thomas,  a  friend  of  his  who 
is  in  Alaska.  Young  Thomas  went  to  Alaska  some 
months  ago  from  Denver,  Colorado,  and  is  do- 
ing well.  He  says:  "We  are  all  getting  rich  out 
here.  Flour  is  selling  as  high  as  $60  a  barrel, 
while  coffee  is  sold  almost  by  the  grain.  It  is 
very  high.  I  am  doing  some  prospecting,  but 
most  of  my  time  is  devoted  to  carrying  on  my 
business.  This  is  the  place  for  young  men,  and 
I  advise  you  to  come  out  here  if  you  can. 

"Now  this  is  the  fact.  There  is  gold  in  Alaska 
for  whoever  wants  it,  plenty  of  it,  but  it  is  des- 
perately hard  to  get.     The  man  who  comes  here 


i 


A  Mam>ual  for  Gold  Seekers.         151 

looking  for  it  must  make  up  his  mind  to  endure 
greater  hardships  than  he  has  ever  endured  be- 
fore. He  has  got  to  live  on  less  and  work 
harder,  to  get  along  with  less  comfort,  and  to 
put  up  with  more  things  he  doesn't  like  than  he 
has  ever  done  before.  He  must  be  willing  to 
shut  himself  ofiE  from  the  outside  world  and 
much  of  the  time  from  the  society  of  his  kind. 
He  must  be  prepared  to  brave  all  sorts  of  dangers 
and  to  take  his  life  in  his  hands,  if  need  be.  He 
must  be  fearless,  courageous,  strong,  healthy  and 
active,  li  he  is  all  these  and  a  hard  worker, 
he'll  got  his  gold,  and  if  he  has  good  mining 
sense  he'll  get  a  lot  of  it.  It's  here,  plenty  of 
it,  more  than  will  be  taken  out  for  a  good  many 
years.  But  it  takes  brains,  muscle  and  grit  to 
get  it. 

"The  Indians  have  no  idea  of  its  value.  In 
exchange  for  two  hankerchiefs,  a  shirt  and  a  pair 
of  old  pants,  Mr.  Grewe  and  his  partner  bought 
a  caribou,  which  supi^lied  them  with  fresh  meat 
for  a  long  time.  Many  of  these  animals  are 
killed  by  the  Indians,  and  that  is  where  the 
only  obtainable  fresh  meat  comes  from  in  the 
winter. 

"A  friend  of  mine  has  been  down  the  Yukon 
to  St.  Michael.  On  the  trip  either  way  he  says 
that  at  this  time  of  the  year  there  is  no  danger, 
and  at  most,  for  people  of  tough  as  well  as  of 


■J,'- 


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152 


Klondike. 


si! 


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tender  skin,  discomfort  and  inconvenience,  on 
account  of  the  myriads  of  mosquitoes,  all  of 
■^hich  are  active  twenty-four  hours  a  day. 

*'lt  may  seem  strange  that  there  should  be 
such  vast  swarms  of  these  insects  in  such  a 
country,  but  it  is  easily  explained.  All  over  the 
surface  of  tlie  country  there  is  moss  fifteen 
inches  to  two  feet  thick.  In  the  winter  the 
larvae  of  these  insects  lie  buried  in  the  moss, 
safely  protected  from  the  cold  under  a  blanket 
of  snow.  When  the  arctic  summer  sun  melts 
the  snow,  the  insects  burst  upon  the  world.  The 
mosquitoes  are  not  of  the  singing  kind — they  go 
to  Avork  at  once. 

"In  the  summer,  too,  traveling  is  difficult. 
On  a  sled  over  the  snow,  a  man  can  pull  400  to 
500  pounds,  but  in  the  summer  one  can  hardly 
st.igger  along  with  150  pounds,  because  the  moss 
is  soggy  mud  and  water,  and  at  every  step  he 
sinks  to  his  knees.  It  is  for  this  summer 
weatlier  that  rubber  hip  boots  are  essential. 

"There  has  been  a  good  deal  of  inquiry  as  to 
how  the  summit  is  crossed  without  very  hard 
work.  Let  the  man  who  undertakes  the  trip 
from  Juneau  at  this  time  of  the  year  be  pre- 
pared for  a  good  deal  of  back-tripping.  This  is 
very  discouraging  work.  All  the  men  who  take 
in  their  year's  provisions  must  expect  it.  Back- 
tripping  means  carrying  the  supplies  in  install- 


A  Ifaniial  for  Gold  Seekers.         153 

ments.  A  man  may  carry  150  to  200  pounds  a 
few  miles;  then  ho  must  go  back  to  another 
supply,  and  so  ho  really  will  go  over  some  parts 
of  the  road  five,  six  or  seven  times.  Some  men 
can  get  Indians  to  carry  their  pack  for  them 
over  the  summit;  but  v,'ith  such  numbers  as  are 
going  there  will  not  be  enough  natives  to  do  the 
carrying.  For  those  who  cannot  secure  the  serv- 
ices of  natives,  or  who  cannot  afford  to  pay 
them,  back-tripping  is  heart-trying.  I  have  seen 
great  husky  men  sit  down  and  cry  like  children 
under  this  back-tripping.  There  are  caches 
along  the  road,  and  places  where  the  install- 
ments can  be  lodged  on  the  trips  from  stage  to 
stage.     Sheep  Camp  is  one  of  these  places.'* 

The  Alaska  Indians  are  not  very  satisfactory 
laborers.  They  dj  all  the  piloting  on  the  river, 
and  are  used  to  carry  wood  at  fuel  stations. 
When  an  attempt  is  made  to  hurry  them  they  go 
slower  than  before,  and  just  laugh  at  the  impa- 
tience of  the  travelers.  Many  of  the  ■v>  .men  are 
married  to  white  men.  It  is  very  rare  to  find  an 
Indian  who  does  any  mining  for  himself.  I  only 
know  one,  Minook,  a  Russian  half-breed,  who 
has  pretty  good  diggings  on  Minook  Creek  at 
the  lower  ramparts.  He  hires  Indians  at  about 
$3  per  day,  and  is  able  to  make  them  work. 
About  twenty  white  miners  have  got  in  there 
now.  Conflicting  reports  are  current  as  to  the 
Talue  of  the  claims. 


it- 


I 


m 


154 


Klondike. 


f  1  I 


|iil   \ 


I 


Tho  miners  at  Forty-Mile  and  Dawaon  City, 
to  prevent  trouble  between  white  men  and  In- 
dians, have  forbidden  the  sale  of  liquor  to  the 
natives  on  pain  of  expulsion  from  the  camp.  A 
sort  of  native  liquor  called  hoochenoo  is  made 
from  black-strap  molasses,  fruit,  sour  dough  and 
brown  sugar.  It  takes  about  a  week  to  brew  and 
its  powers  of  intoxication  are  potent.  In  absence 
of  other  liquors  miners  sometimes  indulge  in  this 
stuff. 

There  is  not  as  much  barter  with  the  Indians 
as  formerly.  They  have  passed  the  bead  and 
gewgaw  stage,  and  are  disposed  to  accept  only 
money  or  useful  articles.  The  trading  com- 
panies dispose  of  a  great  deal  of  *'Siwash  to- 
bacco" to  them.  This  is  long  leaf  tobacco  in  its 
natural  state.  Around  Forty-Mile  and  Dawson 
the  Indians  buy  the  manufactured  tobacco. 
They  have  all  become  great  dandies  and  dress 
better  than  the  white  men.  Many  of  them  buy 
watches.  There  are  many  Indians  in  the  coun- 
try, especially  wherever  there  is  a  mining  camp. 

One  of  the  younger  miners  writes: 

*'We  are  getting  ready  to  start  out  to-night; 
think  of  putting  75  or  100  pounds  on  your  back 
and  starting  out  for  a  weeK  or  two,  wading  in 
marshes  up  to  your  knees  or  mud  to  the  same 
depth.  Well,  that  is  what  a  prospecter  can  ex- 
pect in  Alaska.  The  moss  is  a  foot  deep  every- 
where, wet,  and  the  mosquitoes  are  just  awful. 


m 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         156 

What  few  horses  are  here  are  faring  hard,  as 
feed  is  scarce,  but  they  charge  $1  a  pound  for 
packing  stulf  to  the  mines  from  Dawson,  which 
IS  six  to  twelve  miles  distant,  so  a  man  with  a 
few  horses  can  make  all  the  money  he  wants.  A 
good  dog  is  worth  $250.'* 

The  gold  production  is  attended  by  com- 
mensurate difficulty,  delay,  expense  and  priva- 
tion in  the  mining  itself.  The  short  summer  of 
ninety  days  generates  only  sufficient  heat  to 
melt  the  snow,  the  ground  itself  still  remaining 
frozen,  it  being  necessary  to  pick  it  out  like  so 
much  rock,  and  then  melt  the  icy  particles  over 
a  fire  preparatory  to  washing. 

It  takes  seventy  days  to  get  a  load  of  freight 
from  the  coast  into  the  mines,  and,  once  there, 
flour  sells  at  $30  per  hundred,  meal  at  118  per 
hundred,  meat  at  II  per  pound,  vhisky  at  $1.50 
per  drink,  mining  tools  and  supj)lies  and  cloth- 
ing sell  at  almost  their  weight  in  gold,  while 
medicine  and  hospital  and  surgical  accessories 
are  priced  above  rubies  and  diamonds. 

Wages  per  day  run  from  $12  to  $16,  with  board 
per  day  at  from  $4  to  $8. 

Travel  and  freighting  to  and  fro  between  St. 
Michael  and  the  mines  is  through  the  medium  of 
the  dog-teavns.  They  readily  sell  for  $150  per 
head,  a  crack  team  of  six  being  worth  $1,000. 
The  dogs,  on  fair  Alaska  mountains  roads,  will 


'   1 


til' 


J!     :i 


156 


Klondi'ke. 


,(■•' 


■n 


in   •>. 

■1 


make  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  miles  a  day 
■with  a  load  of  freight,  while  private  traveling 
sledges  have  records  of  fifty  miles  and  upward 
per  day.  The  vehicle  used  for  both  freight  and 
passenger  traffic  is  a  combination  canoe  and 
sled. 

**The  Klondike  district  takes  its  place  as  the 
richest  placer  diggings  the  world  has  ever  seen. 
Last  week  we  published  an  account  of  the  result 
of  the  spring  clean-up,"  says  the  Alaska  Miner, 
**and  as  we  glibly  wrote  of  thousands  and  tens 
of  thousands  rescued  from  the  sands  of  El  Dorado 
and  Bonan;5a  Creeks  we  ourselves  looked  upon 
the  account  almost  with  incredulity. 

**But  there  is  no  occasion  to  be  alarmed  at  the 
startling  nature  of  the  statement.  We  have 
been  very  close  to  the  most  reliable  sources  of 
information  for  many  months  past.  As  far  back 
as  last  March  we  gave  a  pan  value  analysis  of 
the  richest  creeks.  It  is  interesting  in  the  line 
of  recent  events  to  look  back  and  make  compari- 
sons. 

*'We  talked  with  several  men  at  that  time  who 
had  spent  most  of  the  winter  on  the  creeks,  and 
as  this  was  previous  to  the  big  rush  they  had 
many  opportunities  of  noting  the  located  claims 
•which  were  being  worked,  and  they  also  had  the 
advantage  of  being  present  when  panning  was 
being  done  by  the  owners  to  ascertain  the  value 


M 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         157 

of  the  various  claims.  Wo  exprossed  the  opinion 
then  that  El  Dorado  v/ould  prove  to  be  the  richer 
creek,  and  our  surmises  have  proved  to  bo  cor- 
rect. 

*'How  did  we  arrive  at  this  result?  We  care- 
fully kept  a  record  of  the  panning  results  on 
both  creeks,  and  the  average  at  that  time  was  as 
follows:  On  El  Dorado  Creek  No.  3,  $3;  No.  4, 
$4.60;  No.  5,  18.50;  No*  6  as  high  as  1153;  No. 
7,  about  the  average  of  No.  G;  No.  8  as  high  as 
$00;  from  No.  8  to  No.  16,  from  $3.50  to  $10  on 
an  average,  although  $216  was  washed  out  of  one 
pan  on  the  latter  claim.  From  No.  16  to  No.  37 
all  the  claims  were  regarded  as  good,  but  not 
enough  panning  had  been  done  to  justify  us  in 
forming  any  opinion  of  the  average  value.  Upon 
No.  37  a  nugget  worth  $360  of  irregular  shape 
was  found.  From  No.  37  to  rim  rock  there  had 
not  been  sufficient  prospecting  done,  but  the 
opinion  then  was  that  all  the  claims  Avere  good. 

**Even  as  far  back  as  last  March  the  best  de- 
veloped claim  in  the  country  was  that  of  Clarence 
Berry,  No.  6  on  El  Dorado,  in  which  he  then 
owned  a  half-interest.  He  also  owned  one-third 
interest  in  Nos.  4  and  5.  He  employed  twelve 
men  all  the  winter  taking  out  pay  dirt  and  de- 
positing it  upon  the  dump. 

**To  give  an  idea  of  the  richness  of  the  claim 
we  cannot  do  better  than  say  that  Berry  paid  his 


!:^ 


3    ;■'•! 
■;     }  -^ . 


liii 


!S 


Mi 


9if 


Bf 


'I       'lil! 


•.'W 

i;,,i 

'!)' 


;l!i: 

!l||* 


I 


168 


Klondike. 


men  $1.25  an  hour  until  some  one  offered  more, 
and  that  every  night  he  melted  ice  in  his  cabin 
and  panned  out  sufticiout  gold  from  the  frozen 
dirt  to  pay  the  wages  of  his  men.  Berry  knew 
where  there  was  very  rich  ground  on  his  claim, 
and  he  very  often  panned  out  from  $10  to  $50  to 
th9  pan,  and  on  one  occasion  he  panned  $125. 
When  requiring  money  i^t  was  only  necessary  for 
the  owner  of  the  claim  to  taice  out  some  of  his 
rich  ground  and  wash  it. 

"Every  man  who  came  here  from  the  Yukon 
last  winter  after  telling  his  story  of  the  new  dig- 
ings  invariably  had  something  to  say  of  claim 
No.  6,  so  that  it  has  probably  been  advertised 
better  than  any  other  mine  on  the  Klondike. 
It  is,  therefore,  with  much  satisfaction  that  we 
publish  the  result  of  the  clean-up.  We  have  had 
all  kinds  of  estimates  given  us  of  the  amount 
which  Berry's  dump  would  produce,  and  the 
highest  we  heard  was  $100,000,  so  that  in  an- 
nouncing the  result  as  $140,000  it  goes  to  show 
what  a  rich  country  has  been  discovered,  and 
furthermore  it  is  substantial  and  satisfactory 
proof  of  the  care  with  which  the  news  from  the 
diggings  has  been  prepared  for  publication. 

"We  gave  figures  in  the  winter  which  showed 
that  the  lower  portion  of  Bonanza  Creek  aver- 
aged all  the  way  from  $10  to  $50  to  the  pan,  up 
to  No.  56  below  Discovery.    From  Discovery  to 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         169 


No.  13  above  the  vivlue  was  from  $5  to  140. 
Then  from  there  to  No.  53  the  average  is  from 
$10  to  50  cents.  From  this  point  up  the  creek 
there  had  not  been  enough  prospecting  done  to 
base  any  average  upon.  We  hope  soon  to  be  in 
a  position  to  give  the  results  from  various  claims 
on  Bonanza  which  may  be  depended  upon,  and 
we  can  then  compare  them  with  the  panning 
average  of  the  early  summer  as  given  above. 

"We  know  that  Rhodes  has  taken  out  probably 
$150,000  from  his  claim,  but  then  it  was  well 
developed,  and  we  are  expecting  big  results  from 
there,  but  we  want  to  get  the  information  from 
a  number  of  claims  so  as  to  get  a  right  idea  of 
the  general  value  of  the  creek,  and  prove  the 
assertion  so  often  made  of  its  continued  richness 
from  end  to  end.  One  thing  has  been  learned  in 
the  Klondike,  and  that  is  that  production  is  pro- 
portionate to  development.  We  have  found  that 
the  yield  of  gold  follows  the  work  done  on  a 
claim.  When  Rhodes  made  such  a  good  showing 
at  the  start  it  encouraged  others  to  open  up  their 
claims,  and  quite  a  number  changed  hands  on 
Bonanza  Creek  and  the  owners  left  there  for  the 
coast  to  obtain  sufficient  supplies  to  last  them 
for  a  long  period.  Then  came  the  big  returns 
from  No.  6  on  El  Dorado,  and  the  great  excite- 
ment was  transferred  to  that  creek,  and  there 
were  fewer  absentee  owners,  and  in  consequence 


i 


■« 


i^^pfl' 


?  'I? 


:'  'tell 


ni' 


!i:t 


^m 


'4. 


•?        I 


160 


Klondike. 


more  work  was  done,  the  evidences  of  which  we 
have  had  ample  demonstration  of  in  the  big 
sacks  of  gold  which  have  been  washed  out. 

*'The  largest  results  attract  the  most  attention, 
therefore  most  of  the  stories  which  have  reached 
the  coast  cluster  about  the  few  big  producers, 
and  of  the  sales  made  only  those  involving  large 
sums  are  spoken  of.  There  are  a  great  many 
smaller  sums  than  the  ones  spoken  of  which  have 
been  taken  from  El  Dorado.  But  properties 
which  in  any  other  country  on  the  face  of  the 
earth  would  attract  universal  attention  are  al- 
most lost  sight  of  in  the  Klondike,  because  they 
have  only  yielded  $10,000.  $15,000  and  $20,000. 
Next  fall  these  same  claims  will  be  so  far  de- 
veloped as  to  hold  their  own  with  the  rest  of  the 
creek.  Berry  had  a  good  start,  and  after  reach- 
ing bed  rock  could  command  sufficient  funds  to 
hire  men  and  pay  them  wages  equal  to  the  pro- 
duction of  an  ordinary  placer  mine.  We  have 
no  particular  reason  to  assume  that  other  claims 
will  prove  less  productive  than  his  when  they 
have  had  the  same  amount  of  labor  expended 
upon  them. 

''Several  men  from  Seattle  went  in  with  the  first 
party  this  spring,  and  they  are  interested  on 
Bonanza  Creek  and  intend  to  prosecute  work 
with  all  the  men  they  can  r>^  fitably  employ. 

"If  a  comparatively  fe v  men  in  the  limited  time 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         ICl 

at  their  disposal  are  able  to  produce  a  million 
dollars  from  dirt  raised  to  the  surface  during  the 
winter  months  with  practically  no  preparation  at 
all,  what  will  be  the  result  when  all  the  claims 
are  being  vigorously  developed  with  plenty  of 
labor  to  draw  from?  This  h  a  very  important 
question,  and  is  one  fraught  with  considerable 
interest  to  the  great  number  of  men  now  on  their 
way  to  the  mines.  If  we  think  a  moment  that 
there  has  not  been  a  barren  claim  yet  on  either 
of  the  creeks  the  possibilities  of  the  future  are 
tremendous.  Let  us  make  this  a  little  clearer. 
The  panning  in  the  winter  gave  promise  of  ex- 
ceedingly rich  results.  These  rich  results  have 
been  attained  in  every  instance  where  the  claim 
has  been  worked.  We  have  therefore  the  right 
to  assume  that  similar  results  will  reward  the 
efforts  of  the  owners  of  other  claims  on  the  same 
creeks  which  have  been  so  productive  this  season. 
The  only  evidence  one  had  of  the  probable  value 
of  a  claim  was  the  amount  of  gold  obtained  in  a 
single  pan.  Suppose  we  follow  this  idea  out  for 
a  moment. 

**No.  6  on  El  Dorado  Creek  panned  out  as  high 
as  $153  to  the  pan  last  winter  before  work  was 
done  on  it.  This  is  the  claim  which  produced 
$140,000  from  the  winter  dump.  Now  the  No. 
7,  next  to  it,  yielded  precisely  the  same  results 
to  the  pan.     Why  wili  not  No.  7,  when  it  is 


I  -•  < 


m-i 


s'l' 


I'  1 


:^    I- 


ii' 


m ' 


162 


Klondike. 


opened  up  as  much  as  No.  6  has  been,  give  the 
same  results?  Then  again  the  next  claim.  No. 
8,  panned  out  as  high  as  $60  to  the  pan.  The 
same  argument  applies  to  the  third.  The  aver- 
age of  the  panning  from  No.  8  to  No.  16  is  from 
$2.50  to  $10  to  the  pan.  This  would  make  any 
of  these  claims  from  No.  7  to  No.  16  produce  as 
much  gold  as  No.  *»  did,  with  the  same  amount 
of  labor  expended  on  them.  What  would  this 
mean?  As  a  simple  question  of  mathematics  it 
would  mean  several  million  dollars  alone  for 
these  few  claims.  This  takes  no  account  of 
claims  No.  17  to  No.  37,  all  of  which  are  re- 
ported to  be  rich;  but  little  work  has  been  done 
upon  them  so  far. 

"When  all  the  claims  are  in  working  order  and 
producing  gold  in  proportion  to  their  develop- 
ment we  shall  see  a  state  of  things  at  the  Klon- 
dike unprecedented  in  the  world's  history.  The 
man  who  took  $90,000  from  45  feet  of  his  ground 
last  v/inter,  and  has  450  feet  yet  left,  and  so  far 
as  he  knows  of  the  same  average  value,  can,  by 
putting  enough  men  to  work,  clean  up  hal.**  a 
million  next  season.  If  this  be  true  then  there 
are  others  who  have  panned  out  from  $5  to  $40 
in  prospecting  who  have  every  reason  to  think 
that  their  claims  will  yield  in  like  manner. 

"We  noticed  as  men  went  through  here  this 
spring  that  there  were  large  numbers  who  expect 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         163 

to  hire  out,  and  thus  obtain  a  stake  so  that  they 
may  in  turn  spend  some  time  in  prospecting  with 
an  equal  chance  of  discovering  something  good 
for  themselves.  Their  places  will  be  taken  by 
other  arrivals  and  the  work  of  securing  the  gold 
will  go  on,  and  much  country  will  be  examined 
by  men  who  will  be  encouraged  and  stimulated 
by  the  success  of  others.  A  man  who  can  afford 
to  hire  men  and  pay  them  $12  a  day  will  get  the 
advantage  of  a  quick  return.  These  diggings 
are  essentially  winter  ones.  Upon  a  claim  of 
five  hundred  feet  a  large  number  of  prospect 
holes  can  be  sunk  at  the  same  time,  and  the  pay 
dirt  deposited  on  the  dump,  and  next  spring  the 
owner  of  the  claim  will  be  in  a  position  to  realize 
enormous  amounts  of  money  from  his  property. 

**The  Klondike  diggings  may  be  regarded  as 
permanent  to  the  extent  of  several  million  dol- 
lars, and  we  have  no  hesitation  in  recommending 
men  with  some  means  to  go  in  and  try  their  for- 
tunes in  the  gold-lined  creeks  of  the  far  North, 
where  endurance,  perseverance,  grit  and  a  good 
outfit  will  be  their  best  friends." 

Undoubtedly  the  most  vivid  account  of  the 
actual  staking  out  of  the  Bonanza  diggings  has 
come  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Wilbur  F.  Cornell,  an 
old  newspaper  man.  He  wrote:  **S^on  after 
getting  to  this  place  it  was  rumored  about  the 
stores  and  saloons  that  a  new  gold  field  had  been 


Ife 


0^1. 


ri 


164 


Klondike. 


If  i 


discovered  on  a  tributary  of  Klondike  River, 
about  fifty-one  miles  up  the  Yukon  from  this 
place,  and  in  two  or  three  days  every  boat  was 
gone  from  Fort  Cudahy  and  the  town  of  Forty- 
Mile,  and  only  enough  people  were  left  to  watch 
the  business  houses,  and  police  barracks,  and  a 
few  who  could  not  get  boats.  I  have  seen  so 
many  of  these  'stampedes'  that  they  do  not  ex- 
cite me,  but  as  I  had  nothing  better  to  do  at  the 
time,  I  got  an  assistant,  as  one  person  cannot 
take  a  boat  up  the  rapid  Yukon,  piled  tent, 
stove,  and  a  month's  provisions  into  my  boat,  and 
Eben  and  I  started  to  see  what  and  how  much 
had  been  found.  Nothing  definite  could  be 
learned  here,  but  it  is  human  as  well  as  animal 
nature  to  run  with  the  herd,  and  the  herd  had 
gone  pellmell  to  Klondike.  Before  I  could  pass 
Forty-Mile  three  more  feverish  individuals  had 
persuaded  me  that  their  future  in  this  world  and 
perhaps  in  the  next,  depended  upon  their  going 
with  me;  so  they  grasped  the  towline,  and  we 
are  on  the  way. 

*'Going  up-stream  with  a  boat  on  the  Yukon  is 
laborious,  the  curren  t  being  too  swft  to  permit 
of  rowing  or  paddling,  so  we  pole  when  possible 
and  tow  or  trick  when  we  can't  pole.  My  three 
passengers,  two  of  the  mounted  police  force  and 
a  steamboat  engineer  who  has  quit  the  steamer 
Weare  for  the  stampede,  are  none  of  them  ex- 


!    i" 


\h:  if 


-<4.  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         165 

perts  in  handling  a  boat  by  the  peculiar  method 
necessary  on  the  Yukon,  but  as  I  have  had  sev- 
eral summers'  experience  we  got  along  most  of 
the  time  in  cold  drizzling  rain,  making  camp 
where  we  can  when  night  comes,  but  always  on 
some  gravelly  bank,  as  the  moss  on  level  ground 
is  as  wet  as  the  river  itself.  Before  we  reach 
the  Klondike  boats  are  passing  down  loaded  with 
men  who  have  been  to  the  diggings.  How  gayly 
they  shoot  by  us,  with  a  five-mile  current  rush- 
ing them  along,  and  how  my  friends  at  the  tow- 
line,  with  shins  blistered  from  sliding  and  stum- 
bling over  the  rocks  on  the  banks  do  envy  them! 

"  'Hurry  along  boys;  it's  a  big  thing!'  'Take 
it  easy;  there'll  be  claims  there  for  you  next 
summer!'  'Five  dollars  to  the  pan  on  Dis- 
covery claim!'  'That  you  Cornell?  Get  a 
claim  next  me  if  you  can;  it's  all  right!'  'Yes, 
I've  located;  will  sell  for  $100!'  'Hello,  Wil- 
bur; don't  let  anything  stop  you;  take  enough 
grub  over  the  mountain  to  last  a  few  days  and 
look  around  a  little;  it  is  going  to  beat  Florence!' 

"Thus  they  shout  as  they  fly  by,  but  the  last 
remark  was  by  a  man  who  was  with  me  at  Flor- 
ence, Idaho,  in  '63,  and  has  been  in  all  the  good 
mining  camps  of  the  Pacific  coast,  and  I  would 
take  his  judgment  on  a  mine  as  I  would  take 
twenty-dollar  pieces;  so  I  tell  my  companions 
tlM»*  it  is  no  wild-goose  chase  r"  ve  on,  and  we 


1^1 


P 


166 


Khndike. 


pull  and  pole  with  renewed  energy,  reaching  the 
native  village  at  the  mouth  of  Klondike  Kiver 
the  third  evening.  AVe  are  too  tired  and  foot- 
sore to  attempt  the  mountain  that  night,  so  we 
put  up  the  tent  and  listen  to  the  varying  and  ex- 
ceedingly contradicting  opinions  of  those  who 
are  camped  in  the  vicinity  and  have  been  over 
the  trail.  Most  of  them  are  going  back,  and 
have  come  here  for  more  provisions,  which  they 
left  in  the  natives  houses'  and  caches;  some  have 
to  go  to  Forty-Mile  Fork,  and  there  is  the  usual 
proportion  of  those  who  promise  themselves  they 
will  never  see  Bonanza  Creek  again  and  don't 
want  a  claim  there.  Then  we  see  who  is  in  the 
boats  arriving  every  hour  or  oftener  from  Stu- 
art River,  from  Sixty-Mile  River,  from  Indian 
Creek,  and  from  all  over  the  Yukon  Valley,  and 
I  wonder  how  they  can  have  heard  of  the  dis- 
covery, but  find  in  most  cases  that  natives  have 
been  sent  for  them  by  friends  here. 

**Then  comes  a  Comanche  yell  from  the  brow  of 
the  first  rise  of  the  mountain  over  which  the 
trail  comes  from  Bonanza,  and  more  yells  until 
a  stranger  here  would  think  we  were  about  to  be 
attacked  by  a  whole  nation  of  savages,  and  we 
look  up  through  the  bushes  and  see  the  rocks 
leaping  down  the  steep  declivity,  and  men  are 
rolling  and  sliding  along  with  them,  and  the 
yells  increase,  and  rocks  and  men.  come  faster, 


-'«»i:*i»Wi«)i*i««ii.(<AH''"«w>i*»«J 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers,  167 

until  they  reach  the  bottom  50  yards  away.  AVe 
shout  too,  and  somebody  propounds  a  question 
which  the  Comanches  hear:  'Ten  dollars  to  the 
pan,  right  in  the  bank  of  the  creek  on  No.  11.' 
'Above  or  below?'  'Oh,  below,  of  course;  no- 
body has  panned  any  above.' 

"You  must  be  told  that  when  a  discovery  is 
made  on  a  creek  that  claim  is  called  'Discovery 
claim,'  the  adjoining  claim  above  is  'No.  1 
above,'  and  the  first  down  stream  is  'No.  1  be- 
low,' and  the  claims  are  numbered  successively 
both  ways  so  far  as  locations  are  made.  The 
'Comanches'  are  buttonholed  to  a  fire,  and  the 
coffee  pot  is  placed  where  it  will  boil  quickly, 
frying  pans  are  soon  doing  their  duty,  and  the 
Comanches  are  talked  to  and  at  till  they  are 
pumped  dry  of  information,  and  coffee  is  ready, 
and  I  know  by  the  ferocity  with  which  they  at- 
tack the  solid  food  and  pour  down  the  coal-black 
coffee  that  the  trip  to  Bonanza  Creek  is  not  a 
picnic — though  they  say  it's  fairly  good. 

"Soon  I  see  a  few  men  slipping  away  from  the 
small  crowd  and  in  a  few  m.inutes  we  hear  the 
stones  on  the  side  of  the  mountain  sliding  again, 
and  a  man  with  a  pack  on  his  back  is  clambering 
upward,  clinging  to  the  small  trees  and  bushes, 
all  the  time  going  but  very  slowly;  and  another 
person  soon  follows,  and  others  follow  in  turn. 
It  is  getting  dark,  and  I  know  we  are  too  tire(? 


\'r\ 


! ,.  u? 


il        I  M 


168 


Klondike. 


V    I 


to  go  far,  and  would  have  to  stop  somewhere  in 
the  mountain,  without  water,  and  though  we 
•would  like  to  go,  I  am  satisfied  we  would  regret  it 
the  next  day  as  we  need  rest  badly  and  some  of  us 
are  not  as  strong  as  tnose  young  Comanches  who 
have  come  back.  So  we  get  into  the  tent  and 
blankets  and  sleep  until  a  boat's  bottom  grinds 
on  the  gravelly  beach,  and  more  men  crawl  up 
the  bank,  cook  supper,  and  either  start  over  the 
trail  or  go  to  sleep.  And  we  try  to  sleep  again 
and  I  am  just  about  unconscious  of  trouble  when 
I  hear  something  moving  in  the  tent,  and  I  know 
■what  it  is,  for  I  have  learned  a  few  things  along 
the  banks  of  the  Yukon  from  experience,  and  I 
can't  be  mistaken  in  the  peculiarly  gentle  sound 
of  a  pan  being  licked.  I  seize  the  handle  of  a 
hatchet  placed  there  for  the  purpose  and  I  hurl 
that  hatchet  at  the  dog,  and  miss  him,  of  course 
— who  ever  did  hit  an  Indian  dog  with  anything 
but  a  bullet? — and  I  postpone  sewing  up  the  hole 
in  the  tent  the  hatchet  made,  and  sleep  again 
until  more  boats  thump  the  gravel  on  the  shore, 
or  more  Comanche  yells  come  from  the  hills; 
and  so  it  is  all  night  long. 

''Daylight,  and  we  have  had  breakfast  and  have 
fixed  up  small  packs,  and  are  making  the  stones 
rattle  and  are  trying  to  pull  up  the  small  trees 
on  the  side  hill.  1  have  been  doing  this  sort  of 
thing  all  summer,  and  D«ither  lungs  nor  muscle 


ft,j>-u'.*>A-- 


I  i-i 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.  169 

are  much  exercised  by  the  climb,  but  I  soon  find 
that  all  are  not  like  me.  Half  a  mile  or  less  and 
the  trail  is  not  so  steep.  It  is  through  thick 
woods,  spruce  and  balm  (cottonwood,  the  name 
here)  and  another  of  the  poplar  family,  quaking 
aspen,  and  the  ground  is  covered  with  moss — ■ 
the  green  mosses  of  the  lowlands  with  more  or 
less  reindeer  moss  and  an  occasional  patch  of 
Iceland  moss,  lycopodiums,  and  so  many  other 
kinds  of  mosses  and  plants  that  I  won't  try  to 
remember  them;  besides  there  are  the  huckle- 
berry and  cranberry  bushes. 

*'Then  we  came  to  a  swamp,  and  the  trail  is 
more  than  ankle  deep  with  water,  but  one  can- 
not walk  through  these  places  out  of  the  trail,  so 
we  plod  through,  and  finally  come  to  dry,  solid 
ground  for  a  mile  or  more,  and  some  of  us  are 
getting  very  thirsty  (the  swamp  water  is  not  fit 
to  drink),  and  we  go  up  and  up,  hoping  to  get 
to  a  spring  we  have  been  told  we  would  find 
before  reaching  the  summit.  A  few  cranberries 
keep  me  from  getting  thirsty,  but  the  rest  are 
differently  constituted,  I  suppose.  Occasionally 
a  grouse  flutters  from  the  berry  patches  and 
alights  in  the  low  trees.  He  does  not  seem  to 
understand  this  stampede  business,  and  is  dis- 
posed to  remonstrate  against  being  thus  dis- 
turbed while  picking  the  berries  which  nobody 
else  wants. 


1 


'^ 


FITi 


170 


Klondike. 


f  1  \ 

1 

< 

j 

I'    ! 


■R     t: 


I     ! 


i    I        I 


3. 


**We  do  live  to  get  to  the  small  spring  of  water 
and  we  take  a  rest.  Some  men  are  coming  down 
the  trail;  others  come  up  the  trail.  One  of  the 
down-trail  men  takes  an  up-trail  man  to  one  side 
and  whispers  advice.  All  I  can  hear  is  the 
word  'pup.'  In  Yukon  vernacular  'pup'  means 
gulch.  Every  creek  has  its  'pup,'  and  if  one 
of  those  'pups'  is  thought  worthy  of  being 
given  a  name  afterward,  it  bocomea  sufficiently 
advanced  to  have  pups  also.  So  I  conclude  that 
somebody  has  found  gold  in  one  of  these  pups, 
but  I  am  in  woeful  ignorance  as  to  which  par- 
ticular pup  is  being  alluded  to. 

"The  sergeant  'Canadian  mounted  police,' 
though  they  haven't  a  horse  within  a  thousand 
miles  of  here,  gives  his  blankets  to  the  other 
M.P.,  and  we  trot  along.  The  engineer  and  the 
other  M. P.  begin  a  race  for  the  summit.  About 
every  quarter  of  a  mile  we  meet  men,  and  they 
tell  of  rich  prospects  being  found  in  different 
places  along  the  creek;  some  of  them  think  it  is 
only  in  spots  and  on  the  rim  rock;  others  are  sure 
the  creek  is  good  from  source  to  mouth;  and  now 
and  th<^n  one  will  tell  us  it  is  all  fraud,  and  the 
men  who  claim  to  have  got  big  pans  never  got 
them.  These  pessimistic  prospectors  always  look 
weary  and  fagged  out,  and  I  know  they  have  had 
no  breakfast,  and  perhaps  no  supper  last  night, 
and  probably  didn't  sleep  much.     Strange  what 


LL 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.  171 


an  effect  the  want  of  a  little  food  will  have  upon 
one's  opinion  upon  any  subject! 

'*At  length  we  reached  the  summit.  The  en- 
gineer and  the  M.P.  are  not  in  sight.  We  lie 
down  and  breathe  a  little.  The  trees  have  be- 
come fewer  as  we  have  climbed  upward,  and  we 
can  see  a  pa  -t  of  the  world  around  us.  Oh,  what 
a  picture  in  the  northeast,  and  what  a  beautiful 
foreground  the  Klondike  Valley  makes!  We 
look  up  the  valley  and  can  see  the  windings  of 
the  silvery  thread  of  water  for  fifty  miles,  and 
where  it  comes  out  of  a  gateway  in  the  mountains 
fuly  1,000  feet  in  depth." 

An  old  Montana  miner,  Mr.  Frank  Aldrich, 
now  at  the  diggings,  has  written: 

"On  June  10  we  landed  at  Klondike.  Here 
the  wildest  of  gold  excitements  is  just  starting. 
The  riches  of  California  and  Australia  are  not  in 
it.  I  saw  $100,000  laying  on  a  wagon  sheet  in 
one  miner's  cabin,  besides  every  pot  and  pan 
in  the  house  not  in  use  for  cooking  purposes  was 
full  of  gold.  On  Bonanza  Creek,  Red  McConnell 
and  Jim  Tweed,  old  Bentonites,  are  worth  $100,- 
000  each,  and  I  could  name  fifty  old-time  friends 
that  are  strictly  Mn  the  swim.'  1  purchased  a 
mule  for  $400  and  was  offered  $600  in  one  hour 
after.  I  have  just  located  a  claim  on  Dominion 
Creek,  and  am  now  busy  packing  supplies  back 
to  prospect  it  seventy  miles  from  here.    Bacon 


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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
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Klondilce. 


is  selling  at  seventy-five  cents  a  pound  and  is 
hard  to  get;  and  everything  in  proportion  is  cor- 
respondingly as  high. 

"Saloons  run  wide  open  here.  Drinks  fifty 
cents;  whisky  by  gallon,  $20  to  130.  I  saw  one 
poker  game  yesterday  with  $50,000  on  the  table. 
Bonanza  kings  with  long  buckskin  sacks  were 
crowding  to  get  up  to  the  bar  to  treat;  got  so 
much  money  they  didn't  know  Avhat  to  do  with 
it.  In  all,  it  is  the  richest  mining  camp  ever 
known  in  the  history  of  the  world;  and  next  year 
it  will  be  better.  Thej.  steamer  P.  B.  Weare  went 
out  of  here  the  day  before  yesterday  so  heavily 
laden  with  gold  dust  in  her  office  that  extra 
props  were  put  from  the  deck  to  the  cabin,  di- 
rectly under  the  office.  You  and  your  friends 
will  bmile  when  you  read  this,  but  it  is  the  truth, 
nevertheless,  and  you  can  come  and  see  for  your- 
self." 

One  of  the  largest  nuggets  so  far  received  from 
the  Yukon  is  one  four  inches  long,  weighing 
fourteen  ounces,  and  valued  at  *250.  It  was 
sent  to  the  North  American  Transportation 
Company  and  has  been  presented  to  the  Field 
Columbian  Museum. 

Inspector  Strickland,  of  the  Northwest  Mounted 
Police,  who  has  spent  the  past  two  years  on  the 
Yukon,  states: 

"There  has   been  no  exaggeration.    I  have 


nt.- 


Nugget  Weighing  Fourteen  Ounces  and  Valued  at  $250. — 

Page  172. 


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4* 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.  173 

seen  nothing  in  newspapers  in  regard  to  the  rich- 
ness of  the  field  that  is  not  true.  Great  strikes 
have  been  matle,  but  the  amount  of  gold  is  un- 
limited. There  are  hundreds  of  creeks  rich  in 
gold-bearing  placers  never  yet  entered  by  pros- 
pectors. Of  course  all  the  claims  in  the  creeks 
now  opened  are  taken  up,  but  those  are  only  be- 
ginnings, I  believe,  of  much  greater  finds.  Some 
men  I  know,  who  ,struck  paying  streaks,  took 
out  as  much  as  $200,000.  Others  averaged  be- 
tween $100,000  and  $200,000,  while  others  again 
only  range  from  $5,000  to  $20,000." 

"No  imagination  can  conceive  of  the  wealth 
in  the  Klondike  and  neighboring  districts,"  said 
one  lucky  miner  as  he  pulled  a  buckskin  bag 
from  one  of  his  pockets  and  proceeded  to  edify 
his  listeners  with  a  magnificent  display  from  one 
of  his  thirteen  placer  claims.  ''This  is  a  sample 
of  the  kind  of  stuff  we  get  when  at  the  close  of 
the  day's  work  we  wash  out  a  bucket  of  dirt  in 
order  to  pay  the  men  their  wages.  The  usual 
method  is  to  pay  for  the  day's  operation  out  of 
a  single  bucketful  of  dirt.  The  dirt  is  washed  out 
in  the  cabin  and  the  wages,  which  are  $15  a  day, 
are  weighed  on  the  scales.  Gold  nuggets  and 
gold  dust  is  all  the  money  we  know  anything 
about  in  the  diggings.  Every  man  carries  a  pair 
of  scales,  and  $10  in  dust  is  the  day's  salary  of  a 
common  laborer.    A  miner  who  may  be  detailed 


t 


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174 


KlondiJce. 


to  cut  wood  receives  he  same  wages  as  though 
he  were  in  the  bottom  of  the  pit.  I  have  been 
in  Alaska  ofiE  and  on  for  fifteen  vears.  ±*art  of 
the  time  I  was  engaged  in  mining,  and  part  of 
the  time  as  a  merchant.  I  know  a  good  deal 
about  the  country,  its  climate  and  its  peculiari- 
ties, and  the  chances  which  are  offered  to  ener- 
getic men.  My  advice  is  for  outsiders  to  stay 
away  until  next  spring,  and  then  will  be  the 
time  to  make  a  rush  for  a  fortune.  The  excite- 
ment next  summer  will  be  much  greater  than  it 
is  to  day,  and  the  difficulty  in  procuring  miners 
will  be  more  felt  than  at  the  present  time.  I 
would  not  be  surprised  if  they  will  be  paying 
$25  a  day  for  good  miners,  for  everybody  will  be 
wild  over  prospecting.  The  day  before  I  left 
the  camp  there  were  one  hundred  claims  staked 
out  on  the  banks  of  the  river.  Somebody  went 
out  on  the  bank  and  panned  a  pan  of  loose  gravel 
at  the  surface.  He  found  that  it  carried  $2.50 
in  gold,  and  the  camp  went  wild." 

In  locating  claims  there  was  no  attempt  made 
to  select  the  ground  on  the  Klondike.  The  first 
man  took  No.  1  and  the  next  man  No.  2,  and  so 
on  until  the  creek  from  where  it  enters  the 
Klondike  to  its  source  in  the  mountains  was 
taken  up.  Then  the  attention  of  the  newcomers 
was  directed  to  El  Dorado  Creek,  which  empties 
into  Bonanza  Greek  a  few  miles  from  where  the 
latter  joins  the  Klondike  Biver. 


'T? 


A  Momual  for  Gold  Seekers.         175 

Here  new  surprises  were  met  with.  The  first 
mau  who  located  a  claim  panned  out  $5,  and 
stayed  right  where  he  was,  and  now  he  counts  his 
fortune  by  tens  of  thousands.  With  him  were 
others,  and  one  after  the  other  the  claims  were 
staked  out  until  not  one  remained  from  one  end  of 
the  creek  to  the  other.  At  its  upper  end  there  are 
two  forks,  and  all  the  ground  from  rim  rock  to 
rim  rock  on  both  these  forks  was  likewise  located. 
We  hear  of  some  old-timer  from  California  who 
accompanied  a  party  of  miners  who  were  locat- 
ing claims  as  they  passed  up  the  creek,  who  was 
constantly  looking  for  favorable  indications  of 
gold  before  deciding  to  exercise  his  right  to 
acquire  a  claim.  He  saw  nothing  to  attract  him 
until  the  whole  creek  was  pre-empted,  and  as 
he  returned  he  found  that  ground  which  he  had 
discarded  as  being  useless  had  changed  hands 
for  thousands  of  dollars,  and  not  a  pick  had  been 
used — ground  which  since  then  has  produced 
$100,000. 

El  Dorado  has  proved  to  be  richer  than 
Bonanza — that  is,  more  gold  has  been  taken  from 
it.  This  may  be  accounted  for  from  the  fact 
that  a  large  number  of  men  who  located  on  El 
Dorado  went  to  work  at  once  last  fall,  put  down 
prospect  holes,  and  after  rearching  bed  rock 
drifted  through  the  frozen  ground  and  raised 
the  pay  Hirt  to  the  surface.    This  dump,  as  it  is 


!■   i; 


11 1 


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Mi    I'       i 


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|i| 


176 


Klondike. 


called,  was  washed  out  this  spring,  and  the  re- 
sults are  something  marvelous. 

A  man  who  had  a  rich  claim  would  sink  a  hole 
and  take  sample  pans  from  it  as  he  went  down, 
and  by  so  doing  he  could  form  a  very  correct 
estimate  of  what  he  was  doing.  When  he  com- 
menced to  drift  on  bedrock  this  process  was  re- 
peated, so  that  he  always  followed  up  the  richest 
ground. 

Clarence  Berry's  claim  on  El  Dorado  has  been 
often  spoken  about.  He  placed  a  value  of  1100,- 
000  on  his  dump.  What  are  the  actual  figures? 
To  show  the  man's  faith  in  his  own  property  he 
proceeded  to  buy  out  his  partners  before  the 
dump  was  washed  out.  To  one  of  them  he  paid 
$60,000,  and  to  another  $35,000.  Then,  when 
the  river  melted,  he  washed  the  gold  from  the 
dump  and  realized  $140,000.  The  result  of  this 
transaction  was  that  he  cleared  $50,000  for  a  few 
months'  work  in  the  winter,  and  yet  owns  one  of 
the  most  valuable  mines  in  the  district.  When 
washing  out  the  dump  it  is  said  that  the  gold 
was  recovered  at  the  rate  of  one  ounce  to  the 
shovel.  In  other  words,  each  man  took  out 
seventeen  dollars  a  minute  as  he  worked.  It 
took  barely  a  week  to  clean  up  all  the  gold  from 
the  winter's  accumulation  of  pay  dirt. 

Archie  McDonald  worked  forty-five  feet  of  his 
claim  up  and  down  the  creek,  with  the  result 


mmm/mmfi^gaStetsmiK/Hmiii^^ 


A  .Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         177 

that  his  sacks  now  contain  $90,000  in  gold  dust. 
His  claim  is  five  hundred  feet  long;  its  value  is 
$1,000,000,  if  the  ground  is  all  of  the  same  aver- 
age value. 

The  news  of  the  great  strike  on  the  Klon- 
dike reached  Circle  City  early  in  September. 
Cobb,  one  of  the  returned  miners,  nurried  ap 
the  Yukon,  traveling  day  and  night,  carrying 
only  the  barest  necessities  in  the  way  of  supplies. 
He  reached  the  mouth  of  Bonanza  Creek,  five 
miles  above  Dawson  City,  only  to  find  that  the 
best  locations  had  been  filed  on.  His  last  sup- 
plies were  almost  gone,  and  there  was  little  or  no 
provisions  in  the  country.  In  his  emergency, 
Cobb  met  Frank  Phiscator,  the  Indian  farmer, 
who  came  back  on  the  Portland  with  $96,000. 
Phiscator  had  just  reached  the  new  diggings, 
and  was  looking  for  a  partner.  The  two  struck 
up  a  friendship.  Phiscator  agreed  to  prospect 
up  the  Klondike  from  the  mouth  of  the  Bonanza, 
while  Cobb  followed  the  latter  stream  to  its  con- 
fines with  the  El  Dorado,  nine  miles  up.  Each 
agreed  to  share  with  the  other.  A  week  after 
they  separated  Cobb  had  located  a  claim  on  El 
Dorado,  and  was  thereby  entitled  by  right  of  dis- 
covery to  twice  the  amount  of  ground  usually 
alloted.  He  hurried  down  to  the  mouth  of  the 
creek  and  found  Piscator  returning  from  a  fruit- 
less search  of  gold.  He  told  Phiscator  of  hi^ 
find,  and  the  two  iuqix  hurried  to  Cobb's  claim. 


^1 

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i'i 


178 


Klondike. 


'if 

i 

C      1 

II 

i    1 

l!;-:f! 


it  if 


Phiscator  located  alongside  of  Cobb.  The 
two  raen  began  work  at  once,  the  pans  running 
as  high  as  $10  on  the  surface.  They  had  struck 
it  rich.  Laying  down  his  shovel  after  the  second 
day's  prospecting  Cobb  said :  "Frank,  this  creek 
is  studded  with  gold  from  here  to  headwaters. 
We  will  call  it  El  Dorado,"  and  so  it  haSj,been 
known  from  that  time  on. 

Asked  as  to  the  richness  of  the  Klondike  coun- 
try, Mr.  Ladue,  the  king  of  Dawson  City,  said: 
"I  have  not  seen  any  late  reports,  but  it  is  pretty 
hard  to  exaggerate  it.  Individuals  may  have  ex- 
aggerated as  to  the  amounts  they  have  taken 
out,  but  as  to  the  wealth  of  the  country  the 
reports  are  generally  correct.  I  believe  the 
largest  amount  taken  out  by  one  person  was 
$81,000  brought  out  by  Frank  Phiscator,  of 
Washington.  About  $2,000,000  have  come  out, 
and  at  that  ratio  it  is  fair  to  assume  that  $15,- 
000,000  will  be  produced  by  the  same  mines  dur- 
ing the  winter. 

*'The  extent  of  the  craze  and  quest  for 
riches,"  continued  Mr.  Ladue,  "may  be  judged 
from  the  fact  that  gold  was  discovered  in  Septem- 
ber last,  and  that  already  800  claims  are  staked 
within  a  radius  of  twenty  miles  of  Dawson  City. 
There  is  no  jumping  of  claims.  Three  months* 
work  each  year  is  required  to  hold  a  claim. 
Failing  in  this  the  land  reverts  to  the  i^overn- 


K' 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         179 

ment.  The  laws  of  Canada  are  stringent  in  such 
matters,  and  severe  penalties  are  imposed  for 
jumping  or  other  interference  with  the  rights  of 
claimants.  Each  claim  is  500  feet  along  the  creek 
and  extending  to  the  foothills  on  either  side." 

Asked  if  he  was  correctly  quoted  as  advising 
people  not  to  go  in  until  spring  Mr.  Ladue  said: 
"Yes,  it  is  too  late  to  go  in  now.  The  gold  fields 
are  located  1,700  miles  up  the  Yukon  River.  If 
many  people  go  iix  it  will  be  impossible  to  get 
provisions  there  in  sufficient  quantities.  Next 
spring  will  be  a  better  time  to  go  than  now. 
Nothing  will  be  lost  by  the  delay. 

"The  truth  of  the  riches  of  this  country  has 
not  been  half  told  and  no  one  can  exaggerate 
the  probable  wealth  to  be  found  in  this  far-off 
country." 

Ladue  is  forty-three  years  old.  He  left  Mon- 
tana in  1882,  going  to  the  Black  Hills.  Eight 
years  ago  he  went  to  Alaska,  where  he  prospected 
for  a  time;  after  which  he  engaged  in  business. 
Last  September  he  removed  his  store  to  the 
present  site  of  Dawson  City. 

In  truth  the  riches  of  the  Klondike  seem  al- 
most fabulous.  One  miner  says:  "A  panful  of 
sand  can  be  washed  out  in  from  three  to  twelve 
minutes,  and  $2,000  was  panned  out  from  six 
pans  of  sand." 

Another  man  has  realized  twelve  ounces  to  the 


m 


h  ^1* 


m 


m 


iili 


180 


Klondike. 


i 


m  '\ 


•  I 


pan— sometimes;  but  sometimes  will  do,  if  you 
count  that  up  at  $17  to  the  ounce. 

When  we  fiist  heard  reports  to  the  effect  that 
$25  to  the  pan  was  often  found  it  was  thought 
wonderful;  but  from  later  accounts  125  to  the 
pan  isn't  in  it  now.  Almost  every  man  up  there 
wants  a  piece  of  this  ground  for  himsell^  turn- 
ing up  his  nose  at  the  idea  of  working  for  wages, 
when  the  said  wages  are  not  a  cent  less  than 
$1.50  per  hour.  One  man  has  several  men  work- 
ing for  him  at  this  rate,  eight  or  ten  hours  daily; 
when  the  day  is  done  he  takes  a  panful  of  dirt, 
washes  it  out,  and  pays  his  men. 

Dominion  Surveyor  Ogilvie  says  that  rich  fields 
in  the  Forty-Mile  district,  such  as  Miller,  Gla- 
cier, and  Chicken  Creeks  have  been  practically 
abandoned  for  the  Klondike.  Men  cannot  be 
got  to  work  for  love  or  money,  and  the  standard 
of  wages  is  $1.50  an  hour,  and  he  repeats  that 
some  of  the  claims  are  so  rich  [that  every  night  a 
few  pans  of  dirt  is  sufficient  to  pay  all  the  hired 
help. 

William  Stanley,  of  Seattle,  was  a  pauper  eight- 
een months  ago;  now  he  is  worth,  perhaps,  $2,- 
000,000.  This  is  his  story.  "I  went  to  Yukon 
as  a  last  resort.  I  was  getting  old  and  had  no 
money,  and  I  knew  that  1  would  never  get  any 
wealth  unless  I  took  it  out  of  the  ground.  It 
was  a  year  ago  last  March  that  I  left  Seattle.     I 


%4i: 


I 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         181 


;  .'^r '' 


made  for  the  Yukon.  I  had  never  been  there 
before.  I  knew  nothing  of  mining  and  nothing 
of  the  hardships  of  the  country,  and  in  fact  was 
as  great  a  'greeny'  as  over  set  foot  in  the  gold 
country  of  the  Northwest.  My  "  ^>amuel  went 
with  me.     He  was  as  ignorant  as  .^    father. 

* 'While  we  were  on  the  steamship -Alki,  which 
took  us  to  Dyea,  we  mot  two  young  men,  Charles 
and  George  Worden.  They  were  residents  of 
Sackett's  Harbor,  New  York,  and  had  come  west 
in  search  of  gold.  We  became  very  intimate. 
They  knew  little  if  anything  of  the  country,  and 
one  day  in  conversation  one  of  us  suggested  that 
we  form  a  company  and  do  our  work  on  the  syn- 
dicate plan,  each  man  to  share  and  share  alike. 
We  wandered  through  the  Yukon  district  for 
several  months,  and  were  getting  discouraged 
because  there  seemed  to  be  nothing  for  us.  We 
met  other  men  who  were  getting  rich,  but  we 
grew  poorer  as  the  days  came  and  went.  Once 
we  had  about  concluded  to  go  back.  It  was  in 
the  latter  part  of  last  September  that  we  be- 
friended a  man  who  gave  us  a  tip  as  to  the  riches 
of  the  Klondike.  We  were  willing  to  believe 
anything  and  made  for  the  Klondike  at  once. 
At  tha  time  we  were  ew  route  for  Forty-Mile 
Creek.    We  were  then  at  Sixty-Mile. 

"The  first  thing  we  did  when  we  reached  the 
Klondike  was  to  spend  a  little  time  at  the  mouth 


U;. 


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Ml. 


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i 

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a4 


182 


Klondike. 


vtx 


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,.-l 


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.     .. 


;    1' 


of  the  stream.  We  were  there  just  twenty-four 
hours  when  the  steamer  Ellis  arrived  with  150 
excited  miners  aboard.  They  had  just  heard 
the  good  news,  and  on  their  arrival  they  made  a 
rush  for  the  richest  spots  on  Bonanza  and  El 
Dorado  Creeks.  / 

"We  went  to  El  Dorado  Creek  and  made  loca- 
tions on  what  were  called  Claims  25,  26,  53, 
and  54.  I  think  it  was  in  October  that  we  made 
our  locations.  We  worked  Claims  25  and  26. 
and  were  very  soon  satisfied  that  we  had  a  fine 
thing  and  went  to  work  to  make  preparations  for 
a  long  winter  of  experience  and  hardships.  We 
got  all  we  wanted  before  spring.  Every  man 
put  in  his  time  sinking  prospect  holes  in  the 
gulch. 

"I  tell  the  simple  truth  when  I  say  that  within 
three  months  we  took  from  the  two  claims  the 
sum  of  $112,000.  A  remarkable  thing  about  our 
findings  is  that  in  taking  this  enormous  sum,  we 
did  not  drift  up  and  down  stream,  nor  did  we 
cross-cut  the  pay  streaks.  Of  CvV^se  we  may  be 
wrong,  but  this  is  the  way  we  are  figuring,  and 
we  are  so  certain  that  what  we  say  is  true  that 
we  would  not  sell  out  for  a  million.  In  our 
judgment,  based  on  close  figuring,  there  are  in 
the  two  claims  we  worked,  and  claims  No.  53  and 
54,  $1,000  to  the  lineal  foot.  I  say  that  in  four 
claims  we  have  at  the  very  least  $2,000,000 
which  can  be  taken  out  without  any  great  work. 


I! 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         183 

**I  believe  there  is  gold  in  almost  every  creek 
in  Alaska.  Certainly  on  the  Klondike  the  claims 
are  not  spotted.  One  seems  to  be  as  good  as 
another.  It's  gold,  gold,  gold,  all  over.  It's 
yards  wide  and  yards  deep.  I  say  so  because  I 
have  been  there  and  have  the  gold  to  show  for 
it.  All  you  have  to  do  is  to  run  a  hole  down, 
and  there  you  find  plenty  of  gold  dust.  I  would 
say  that  our  claims  on  the  El  Dorado  claims  will 
average  $3,  some  go  as  high  as  $160,  and  believe 
me  when  I  tell  you  that  in  five  pans  I  have 
taken  out  as  high  as  $750.  I  did  not  pick  the 
pans,  but  simply  put  them  against  my  breast  and 
scooped  the  dirt  off  the  bedrock. 

''Of  course  the  majority  of  those  on  the  Klon- 
dike have  done  much  figuring  as  to  the  amount 
of  gold  the  Klondike  will  yield.  Many  times  we 
fellows  figured  on  the  prospects  of  the  El 
Dorado.  I  would  not  hesitate  much  about 
guaranteeing  131,000,000,  and  should  not  be  sur- 
prised a  bit  if  $25,000,000,  or  even  $30,000,000, 
was  taken  out.  Some  people  will  tell  you  that 
the  Klondike  is  a  marvel  and  that  there  will 
never  be  a  discovery  in  Alaska  which  will  com- 
pare with  it.  I  think  that  there  will  be  a  num- 
ber of  new  creeks  discovered  that  will  make  won- 
derful yields.  Why,  Bear  Gulch  is  just  like  El 
Dorado.  Bear  Gulch  has  a  double  bedrock. 
The  bedrocks  are  three  feet  apart.    In  the  lower 


m 


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ill 


■■A    ;*;: 


1 

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PT5^^ 


hi  I 


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i.    { 

[Tin 


184 


Klondike. 


I  I 


bed  the  gold  is  as  dark  as  a  black  cat,  and  in  the 
upper  bed  the  gold  is  as  bright  as  any  you  ever 
saw.  We  own  No.  10  claim  -below  Discovery 
on  Bear  Gulch,  and  also  Nos.  20  and  31  on  Last 
Chance  Gulch  above  Discovery.  We  prof/peoted 
for  three  miles  on  Last  Chance  Gulch,  and  could 
not  tell  the  best  place  to  locate  the  Discovery 
claim.  The  man  making  a  discovery  of  the 
creek  is  entitled  by  law  to  stake  a  claim  and  take 
an  adjoining  one,  or  in  other  words  two  claims; 
so  you  see  he  wants  to  get  in  a  good  location  on 
the  creek  or  gulch.  Hunker  Gulch  is  highly 
looked  to.  I  think  it  will  prove  another  great 
district,  and  some  good  strikes  have  also  been 
made  on  Dominion  Creek.  Indian  Creek  is  also 
becoming  famous. 

"What  are  we  doing  with  all  the  money  we 
take  out?  Well,  we  paid  $45,000  spot  cash  for 
a  half-interest  in  Claim  32,  El  Dorado.  We  also 
advanced  $5,000  each  to  four  parties  on  El 
Dorado  Creek,  taking  a  mortgage  on  their  claim, 
so  you  see  we  are  well  secured.  No,  I  do  not 
want  any  better  security  for  my  money  than  El 
Dorado  claims,  thank  you.  I  only  wish  I  had  a 
mortgage  on  the  whole  creek. 

"We  had  a  great  deal  of  trouble  in  securing 
labor  in  prospecting  our  properties.  Old  miners 
would  not  work  for  any  price.  We  could  occa- 
sionally rope  in  a  greerrfiorn  and  get  him  to  work 


'■i: 


A  Manual /or  Gold  Seekers.         186 

for  a  few  days  at  $15  a  day.  Six  or  eight  miners 
worked  on  shares  for  us  about  six  weeks,  and 
when  we  settled  it  developed  that  they  had 
earned  in  that  length  of  time  $5,300  each.  That 
was  pretty  good  pay,  wasn't  it?  We  paid  one 
old  miner  112  for  three  hours'  work,  and  offered  to 
continue  him  at  that  rate,  but  he  would  not  have 
it,  and  he  went  out  to  hunt  a  claim  of  his  own. 
My  son  Samuel  and  Charles  Worden  are  in 
charge  of  our  interests  in  Alaska." 

The  latest  estimate  of  the  probable  output  of 
gold  in  the  Klondike  comes  from  B.  R.  Shaw,  a 
well-known  insurance  man,  who  left  Seattle  for 
the  Klondike  on  March  15,  reaching  Dawson 
City  two  and  a  half  months  later.  In  a  letter 
he  says  that  a  conservative  estimate  of  the  prod- 
uct of  the  camp  during  the  next  two  years  is 
$50,000,000.  Shaw  is  not  an  enthusiast,  and  be- 
sides he  has  had  twenty  years  of  experience  in 
operating  placer  mines  in  California.  This  is 
how  Shaw  described  Dawson  on  June  18: 
**There  is  no  night  here  now.  It  is  light  as  mid- 
day for  twenty-four  hours,  and  not  so  warm  but 
that  it's  comfortable  working  out  of  doors.  This 
gold  strike  is  without  doubt  the  greatest  on  the 
American  continert,  or  in  the  world.  Some  of 
the  pay  streaks  are  nearly  all  gold.  One  thou- 
sand dollars  to  the  pan  is  not  uncommon,  and  as 
high  as  100  ounces  to  the  pan  have  been  taken 


It  Hi 

m 


U\ 


Klondike. 


out.  As  to  the  extent  of  the  district  it  has 
not  been  prospected  sufficiently  to  ascertain 
this  fact.  The  people  who  came  in  here  on  the 
rush  settled  down  on  a  half-dozen  streayis,  all 
within  an  area  of  not  more  than  150  square  miles, 
and  the  biggest  paying  streams  were  staked  from 
mouth  to  source.  They  began  taking  out  the 
pure  gold  at  once,  and  little  prospecting  has 
since  been  done  outside  this  locality.  No  one 
need  fear  all  the  good  claims  will  be  taken. 
There  are  thousands  of  miles  square  that  have 
yet  to  be  prospected. 

""The  Klondike  joins  the  Yukon  from  the  east  a 
few  miles  above  the  site  of  Fort  Reliance,  about 
fifty  miles  above  Dawson  City.  The  discovery 
of  gold  in  the  branches  of  this  stream  was  due  to 
the  reports  of  Indians.  A  white  man  named  J. 
A.  Carmack,  who  worked  in  1887,  was  the  first  to 
hear  the  rumor  and  locate  a  claim  in  the  lowest 
branch,  which  was  named  by  the  miners  Bonanza 
Creek.  Carmack  reached  his  claim  in  August. 
He  had  to  cut  some  logs  in  order  to  get  a  few 
pounds  of  provisions  to  enable  him  to  begin  work 
on  his  claim.  He  returned  with  a  few  weeks* 
provision  for  himself,  wife  and  brother-in-law,  in 
the  latt  X  part  of  August,  and  immediately  set 
about  working  his  claim.  The  gravel  he  had  to 
carry  in  a  box  on  his  back  from  30  to  100  feet. 
Notwithstanding  this,  three  men  working  very 


11: 


A  Mcmual  for  Gold  Seekers.         187 

irregularly  washed  out  114,200  in  eight  days, 
and  Carmack  asserts  that  if  he  had  had  proper 
facilities  he  could  have  washed  out  the  gold  in 
two  days.  The  branch  of  the  Bonanza  Creek 
called  El  Dorado  has  developed  magnificently. 
Another  tributary,  Tilly  Creek,  has  been  worked 
with  profit.  There  are  170  claims  staked  out  in 
the  main  creek  and  the  branches  are  thought  to 
be  good  for  as  any  more.  The  location  aggre- 
gates 350  claims,  which  will  require  over  a  thou- 
sand men  to  work  properly. 

A  few  miles  further  up.  Bear  Creek  enters  the 
Klondike.  It  has  been  prospected  and  claims 
located.  About  twelve  miles  above  the  mouth  of 
Bear  Creek,  Gold  Bottom  Creek  joins  Klondike. 
In  a  branch  called  Hunker  Creek  very  rich  ground 
has  been  found.  On  Gold  Bottom  Creek  and  its 
branches  there  will  probably  be  two  or  three 
hundred  claims.  The  Indians  hav<^  reached  an- 
other creek  much  further  up,  which  they  call 
**Too  Much  Gold"  Creek  in  which  the  gold  is 
said  to  be  so  plentiful  that  the  miners  say,  ^'That 
you  have  to  mix  gravel  with  it  to  sluice  it."  Up 
to  date  nothing  has  been  h  ird  from  this  creek. 

''From  all  this  we  may  think,"  reports  Sur- 
veyor Ogilvie,  "that  we  have  here  a  district 
which  will  give  5,000  claims  of  400  feet  in  length 
each.  Now,  1,000  such  claims  will  require  at  least 
3,000  men  to  work  them  properly,  and  as  wages 


,  1 


t:i 


188 


Klondike. 


are  from  $8  to  $10  per  day,  we  have  every  reason 
to  assume  that  this  particular  territory  will  in  a 
year  or  two  contain  10,000  souls  at  least,  for  the 
news  has  gone  out  to  the  world,  and  an  unprece- 
dented influx  is  anticipated  next  spring.  And  this 
is  not  all,  for  a  large  creek  called  Indian  Creek 
joins  the  Yukon  about  midway  between  Klon- 
dike and  Stuart  River.  All  along  this  creek  good 
pay  dirt  may  be  found.  All  that  has  stood  in 
the  way  of  working  it  heretofore  has  been  the 
scarcity  of  provisions  owing  to  the  difficulty  of 
getting  them  up  there.  Indian  Creek  is  quite  a 
stream,  and  it  is  probable  that  it  will  yield  five 
or  six  hundred  claims. 

"Further  south  lie  the  heads  of  several 
branches  of  Stuart  River,  on  which  some  pros- 
pecting has  been  done  this  summer  and  good 
indications  found,  but  the  want  of  provisions 
prevented  development.  Gold  has  been  found 
in  several  of  the  streams  joining  Pelly  River,  and 
also  along  the  Hootaliqua.  In  the  line  of  these 
finds  further  south  are  the  Cassiar  gold  fields 
in  British  Columbia,  so  the  presumption  is  that 
we  have  in  our  territory  along  the  easterly 
branches  of  the  Yukon  a  gold-bearing  belt  of 
indefinite  width,  and  upward  of  300  miles  long, 
exclusive  of  the  British  Columbia  part  of  it. 

"Quartz  of  a  good  quality  is  reported  in  the 
hills  around  Bonanza  Creek,  but  of  this  I  shall 


i;. 


i 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         189 

be  able  to  speak  more  fully  after  my  proposed 
survey.  It  is  pretty  certain  from  information  I 
have  obtained  from  prospectors  that  all,  or  nearly 
all,  of  the  northerly  branch  of  White  River  is  on 
our  side  of  the  line,  and  copper  is  found  on  it. 
I  have  seen  a  specimen  of  silver  ore  said  to  have 
been  picked  up  in  a  creek  flowing  into  Bennett 
Lake,  about  fourteen  miles  from  its  mouth." 

Mr.  John  G.  Whitlock  sent  a  communication 
to  the  Examiner,  that  is  vouched  for  by  Mr. 
Tremain,  of  the  Prospective  Mining  &  Machinery 
Company  of  San  Francisco,  and  Mr.  Tremain  is 
good  authority  for  any  statements  he  may  choose 
to  make.  Full  confidence  may  therefore  be  put 
in  this  report.     He  said: 

"You  will  no  doubt  be  surprised  to  know  that 
I  am  up  here.  I  came  a  year  ago  this  spring.  I 
have  a  claim  on  El  Dorado  Creek,  which  runs  into 
the  Klondike  River.  I  had  a  partner  who  came 
here  with  me  and  died  last  winter  We  had  a 
mild  winter,  and  it  is  not  so  cold  as  some  say  or 
think.  I  came  down  to  Dawson  to  send  this  off, 
as  the  boat  leaves  in  a  few  days.  Now  to  busi- 
ness. I  told  you  when  I  saw  you  last  that  I 
would  turn  up  all  right  in  time,  and  so  I  have. 
The  gold  mines  here  are  wonderful — the  biggest 
in  the  world.  You  would  not  believe  half  if  I 
told  you,  but  as  there  will  be  some  gold  going  to 
Portland  you  will  see  for  yourself.     Now,  I  want 


Kim 


■   4Ui 


|!^l' 


ii 

III 


!■■ 


m  I 


w 


iiii! . 


i   I 


I    f 


■I    " 
1    I 


ii: 


^  111 

1  ! 
I  ; 


I, 


190 


Klondike. 


to  .'  5k  you,  can  you  come  to  this  place  at  once? 
There  was  a  claim  next  to  mine  that  sold  for 
$60,000  a  few  days  ago.  I  will  not  send  any  gold 
out  this  time.  I  washed  out  in  six  days  about 
16,000,  and  I  want  to  stay  here  another  year  or 
two.  Provisions  are  going  to  be  very  scarce. 
If  you  will  pack  up  and  leave  Portland  at  once, 
and  bring  up  grub  enough  i"*  last  three  of  us 
one  year,  we  will  give  you  a  half-interest  in  the 
biggest  thing  you  ever  struck.  As  you  know,  I 
am  an  old  miner  and  know  what  I  say.  My  new 
partner  and  I  have  each  got  110,000  piled  away  in 
a  sack.  I  am  sure  that  in  one  year  from  now 
we  three — you,  my  partner  and  I — can  take  out 
1500,000  and  not  try  at  all.  My  cabin  is  half  a 
mile  from  the  diggings,  and  many  a  time  I  pick 
up  little  nuggets  that  will  weigh  from  an  ounce  to 
two  ounces.  I  was  on  Cook  Inlet  a  long  time. 
We  have  been  here  only  four  months  and  have 
over  $30,000  to  show.  How  is  that?  Now, 
don*t  listen  to  any  one.  You  come  up  here.  It 
will  take  only  1500  worth  uf  provisions.  Come  by 
the  way  of  Juneau;  never  mind  the  expense,  it 
will  beat  living  in  Portland,  anyway. 

*'One  man  will  take  out  $200,000  this  trip  for 
four  months'  work  by  himself.  What  we  want 
is  food  and  plenty  of  it.  If  you  will  come  and 
take  this  offer  we  will  let  you  in  as  we  say.  We 
have  got  the  biggest  thing  of  any  of  them.     I 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers         191 

have  made  the  offer  to  two  others,  po  come  as 
quick  as  you  can.  I  know  you  have  the  money 
and  can  come  if  you  want  to,  still  I  cannot  afford 
to  wait.  Business  is  business,  you  know.  I 
shall  expect  you  on  the  September  boat  at  Daw- 
son, if  you  come  that  w*iy,  but  if  you  come  the 
other  way  we  will  wait  a  reasonable  time.  As 
for  gold,  we  have  more  gold  than  bread.  I  may 
get  a  million  out  oi:  my  claim  if  my  ground  fig- 
ures out  all  right.  I  got  $331  out  of  one  pan- 
ful of  dirt  not  over  ten  pounds  weight.  There 
were  over  thirty-nine  nuggets  in  all." 

The  total  of  the  wealth  acquired  by  the  men 
directly  heard  from  is  as  follows: 

Gold  brought  to  San  Francisco $649,850 

Claims  held  by  men  landing  in  Seattle 2,490,000 

Gold  brought  to  other  coast  points 670,000 

Definite  reports  from  Alaska 641,500 

Total $4,351,350 

These  figures  only  relate  to  the  diggings  of 
a  few  score  men,  and  there  are  nearly  5,000 
miners  in  the  Klondike  region.  It  has  been  esti- 
mated that  the  total  amount  of  dust  and  nuggets 
obtained,  without  reference  to  the  value  of  any 
of  the  holdings,  was  upward  of  $5,000,000. 

When  the  steamer  Portland  arrived  at  Seattle 
from  the  far  North,  gold  in  boxes,  gold  in 
blankets^  fine  gold  and  coarse  gold,  gold  nuggets 


.M 


i'  I'  1 


iff  I. 


I  Erai 


!:      M 


m 

I 


I 


192 


Klondike. 


and  gold  dust,  the  yellow  treasure  of  the  Klon- 
dike diggings,  were  carried  ashore.  A  ton  and  a 
half  of  gold  was  a  part  of  the  load  the  steamer 
had  brought  from  St.  Michael,  Alaska,  and 
with  the  3,000  pounds  of  gold  were  the  several 
owners,  sixty-eight  miners,  some  with  $45,000 
some  with  110,000  some  with  150,000,  a  few  with 
1100,000  and  over,  but  all  with  gold.  When  the 
steamer  came  to  port  the  miners  put  their  bags 
on  their  shoulders  and  walked  down  the  gang- 
plank in  the  presence  of  a  vast  throng  of  Seattle 
people  assembled  to  see  the  great  pile  of  treasure 
from  the  rich  fields  of  the  far  North.  A  miner 
with  only  $5,000  in  his  bag  easily  carried  his  for- 
tune. Twenty  thousand  dollars  in  two  bags  is  a 
good  load  for  any  stalwart  man,  no  matter  if  he 
has  worked  where  the  mercury  falls  to  60  de- 
grees below  zero.  Two  men  used  all  their 
strength  in  carrying  a  strapped  blanket  in  which 
was  about  $50,000.  The  few  with  the  big  for- 
tunes $100,000,  and  over,  had  to  hire  help  to  get 
their  precious  possessions  to  a  safe  place  of  stor- 
age in  Seattle. 

The  sacks  were  of  various  kinds  and  sizes,  and 
were  principally  made  of  buckskin  and  rawhide. 
When  each  package  had  been  weighed  and  the 
clerks  and  assistants  had  cut  them  open,  the 
spectators  crowded  around  craning  their  necks  to 
behold  the  gold  which  meant  so  much  to  the 
owners. 


A  Manual  yor  Gold  Seehera.         193 


After  the  gold  dust  roaches  civilization  it  goes 
to  the  smelter.  The  room  where  the  casting  is 
done  is  always  hot.  The  floor  is  covered  with 
iron.  Along  one  side  are  canopies  of  iron  that 
look  like  the  tops  of  bakers*  ovens.  Those  can- 
opies may  be  closed  in  front,  and  they  rest  on 
platforms  of  iron  in  which  are  countersunk  the 
places  for  the  reception  of  the  crucibles.  The 
fuel  is  gas  and  air  under  pressure.  It  attacks 
the  vessel  of  clay  in  which  the  plumbago  cruci- 
bles repose  with  a  roar  that  can  be  heard  a  block 
away.  A  faint  glow  at  first  colors  the  clay  pot, 
over  which  has  been  placed  a  cover,  also  of  clay; 
then  it  becomes  red  and  then  white,  while  green- 
ish and  blue  flames  play  all  around  it.  It  is 
necessary  to  turn  off  the  blast  before  the  crucible 
can  be  looked  into,  so  fierce  is  the  heat.  Down 
in  the  bottom  of  the  white  mass  there  ia  a  line 
that  indicates  where  the  gold  ends.  When  it 
has  become  a  homogeneous  compound,  by  an  in- 
stinct born  of  experience  the  operator  lifts  the 
cover;  then  the  blast  is  withdrawn.  A  pair  of 
tongs  lifts  another  cover  from  the  crucible  itself, 
and  the  mold  is  lifted  into  a  pan  standing  on  the 
iron  platform.  The  tongs  are  brought  into  req- 
uisition, and  the  crucible  is  turned  above  the 
mold.  A  thick  lip  of  red  metal  protrudes  itself, 
and  from  under  it,  in  a  thin,  white  stream,  runs 
the  gold  into  the  iron  mold.    A  thick  cloud  of 


i  y>. 


il 


Is,; 


f 


ill 


:  i^ 


^  i 


n 


194 


Klondihe. 


vapor  arises  from  the  contact  of  the  melted  gold 
and  the  grease  with  which  the  mold  has  bccu 
smeared.  By  this  time  the  clamps  are  loosened, 
the  brick  has  set  and  is  lifted — a  black  and  un- 
attractive rectangle — into  a  basin  of  water.  It 
is  soon  cooled,  and  is  scrubbed  with  a  brush  and 
soap.  Then  it  looks  not  unlike  so  much  brass. 
It  is  cleaned  thoroughly,  the  dirt  that  may  have 
been  mixed  with  it  is  removed  and  the  bar  is 
weighed.  That  is  all  that  there  is  to  it.  When 
the  dust  and  nuggets  are  brought  in  they  are 
simply  turned  into  the  crucible.  The  bars  are 
all  stamped  in  a  dozen  places  on  both  sides,  and 
the  paying  for  it  completes  the  deal. 


7  I 


i 


'r: ! 


I 


I 


i! 


ii:    tl 


t  1 

J                 :          ; 

!            M  '    k 

'Ii            1'' 

i-       fi'  '^'li 

1 

f':      '            .1    i 

I  ii 


■>•  'i. 


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r 


i 


A  Manual  for  Gold  /Seekers.         195 


# 


MINING  METHODS. 

The  following  is  a  non-technical  account  of 
placer  mining  by  a  Chicago  writer: 

"To  give  a  homely  but  reasonably  liruthful 
illustration  of  placer  mining,  take  a  bushel  of 
coarse  sand  mixed  with  gravel,  a  bus'liel  of  earth 
such  as  you  see  taken  from  a  city  excavation,  a 
considerable  proportion  of  clay,  a  little  cement, 
a  double  handful  of  shot  varying  in  sizrt  from 
the  smallest  biidshot  to  the  largest  buckshot, 
and  imagine  all  this  stuff  to  be  mixed  thoroughly 
together  about  the  consistency  of  the  soil  on  the 
shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  where  the  surf  beats  it 
into  some  sort  of  compactness.  How  would  you 
go  at  it  to  extract  the  shot  in  the  least  possible 
time  and  at  the  last  expenditure  of  labor?  If 
you  had  heard  of  place  mining  you  woula  wash 
the  earth  away  and  save  the  shot. 

"All  you  need  is  a  pan  and  plenty  of  water. 
Any  sort  of  flat  vessel,  from  a  soup  plate  to  a  dish 
pan,  will  answer  the  purpose.  The  miner's  pan 
is  shaped  like  a  cake  ^lan  with  a  flat  bottom. 
When  a  prospector  starts  out  he  takes  one  made 


V-; 


I 


n 

r 

11 

i 
1 

i; 

<f 

196 


KlondiTce. 


I 


I.     '. 


it 

ii  i  i 


Hi  r 


I  i' 


I 


I 


of  tin  or  sheet  iron.  Gather  with  your  hands, 
or  a  pick;,  or  a  shovel,  a  quart  of  this  mixture 
just  described  and  put  it  in  the  pan.  Fill  the 
pan  nearly  full  of  water.  The  earth  will  be  sof- 
tened into  mud.  Add  more  water.  Then  tilt 
your  pan  over  a  very  little  and  the  soft  mud  will 
run  out  over  the  top  of  the  pan.  Continue  the 
operation  and  in  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  the  earth 
has  run  ofE  and  all  that  you  have  left  in  the  pan 
is  the  shot,  which,  being  heavier  th'in  the  earth, 
has  sunk  to  the  bottom,  together  with  any 
gravel  you  may  have  thrown  in  originally.  The 
work  of  separating  the  shot  from  the  gravel 
after  the  earth  has  been  washed  away  is  very 
easy. 

"Substitute  particles  of  gold  for  your  leaden 
globules,  and  the  wildest  kind  of  a  mountain 
country  for  that  to  which  you  are  accustomed, 
and  you  know  just  what  the  men  in  the  Klondike 
region  have  been  doing  all  winter  and  which  has 
electrified  the  world.  In  the  manner  above  de- 
scribed they  have  been  washing  the  precious 
metal  from  earth  found  on  a  very  rough,  broken 
region  larger  than  the  city  limits  of  Chicago. 
The  miners  had  no  other  appliances  but  the 
pan  and  the  water  of  the  creeks  flowing  through 
the  Klondike  district  until  the  spring  time,  when 
they  set  up  sluices.  What  makes  the  authentic 
reports  from  Alaska  so  startling  is  the  extraor- 


i 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         197 

dinary  yiel  1  of  gold  to  the  pan.  In  the  creek 
beds  they  have  picked  up  chunks  of  solid  gold, 
single  nuggets  worth  $1,000  or  more.  Of 
course,  these  are  exceptional  even  in  the  new 
El  Dorado. 

*'In  the  language  of  miners,  the  earth  from 
which  gold  is  extracted  is  called  dirt.  Any  earth 
which  yields  ten  cents  of  gold  to  the  pan  is 
known  as  pay  dirt;  fifteen  cents  to  the  pan  is 
good,  and  twenty  cents  is  rich.  A  miner  work- 
ing in  dirt  that  runs  six  to  ten  cents  to  the  pan 
earns  from  $3.50  to  $3.50  a  day,  as  he  is  able  to 
wash  about  forty  panfuls  a  day,  the  number  de- 
pending on  the  character  of  the  dirt.  Some 
panfuls  yield  $100  in  precious  metal.  The  gold 
that  remains  in  the  pan  after  the  dirt  has  been 
washed  away  is  called  dust.  Some  of  it  is  fine 
as  the  finest  sand,  some  the  size  of  a  pinhead, 
and  some  as  largo  as  a  pea  or  the  end  of  your 
little  finger.     Lumps  are  called  nuggets. 

"The  gold  itself  is  the  measure  of  the  day's, 
or  the  month's,  or  the  season's  profit.  An 
ounce  of  it  is  worth,  if  pure,  $20.  You  can  buy 
as  much  of  anything  you  want  for  an  ounce  of 
dust  as  you  can  do  for  a  $20  gold  piece.  All  stores 
in  mining  districts  are  provided  with  gold  scales, 
and  the  miner's  gold  is  accepted  as  so  much  coin 
of  the  realm.  The  quantity  of  gold  it  takes  to 
make  a  dollar  is  surprising  to  one  not  accus- 


M 


V 


t   i 


11 


\t 


i 


198 


Klondike. 


J!'-    • 


§' 


lifi  i     ^ 

l! 


:u 


ill 


15' 

5  r 


tonied  to  handling  tho  metal.  So  much  dust  as 
you  can  hold  on  tho  largest  blade  of  your  pocket- 
knife  is  worth  $5  to  $7.50.  When  you  consider 
that  this  small  quantity  is  the  yield  of  thirty  or 
forty  pans  you  can  imagine  how  little  bulk  there 
is  to  the  gold  saved  in  one  pan.  A  coined  gold 
dollar  is  much  smaller  than  a  silver  dime. 
Now,  if  a  miner  can  save  in  one  panful  of  dirt 
the  tenth  part  of  a  gold  dollar  he  is  making  fair 
wages.  Some  of  the  gold  is  in  such  fine  particles 
that  it  floats  and  does  not  sink  to  the  bottom 
like  a  shot.  A  considerable  portion  of  such 
floating  gold  runs  over  the  top  of  the  pan  and  is 
lost.  It  is  estimated  that  in  the  first  placer  min- 
ing in  California  about  one-fourth  of  tho  gold 
was  thus  lost.  To  this  day  Chinamen  are  en- 
gaged in  panning  the  refuse  dirt  of  early  miners, 
and  they  make  from  $1.35  to  $3  a  day  i^*  the 
operation.  In  Klondike,  where  so  much  of  tho 
gold  is  coarse,  the  miners  lose  very  little  of  the 
precious  metal  by  reason  of  its  floating  away. 
Placer  mining  is  the  simplest  of  all  processes 
for  getting  gold  out  of  the  ground,  and  can  be 
carried  on  only  when  there  is  nn  ample  supply 
of  water.  All  reports  from  Klondike  agree  that 
the  best  diggings  are  in  the  beds  of  creeks,  and 
that  the  further  down  they  get  tho  richer  the 
dirt,  until  bedrock  is  reached." 
A  Canadian  govarnment  report  says  that  tho 


\ 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seeko's.  199 


■'•■r  i 


process  of  ''placer"  mining  in  Alaska  is  "bout  as 
follows:  "After  clearing  all  the  coarse  gravel  and 
stone  off  a  patch  of  ground,  the  miner  lifts  a 
little  of  the  finer  gravel  or  sand  in  his  pan,  which 
is  a  broad,  shallow  dish,  made  of  strong  sheet 
iron;  he  then  puts  in  water  enough  to  fill  the 
pan,  and  gives  a  few  rapid  whirls  and  shakes; 
this  tends  to  bring  the  gold  to  the  bottom  on  ac- 
count of  its  greater  specific  gravity.  The  dish  is 
then  shaken  and  held  in  such  a  way  that  the  gravel 
and  sand  are  gradually  washed  out;  care  being 
taken  as  the  process  nears  completion  to  avoid 
letting  out  the  finer  and  heavier  parts  that  have 
settled  to  the  bottom.  Finally  all  that  is  left  in 
the  pan  is  whatever  gold  may  have  been  in  the 
dish  and  some  black  sand, which  almost  invariably 
accompanies  it. 

"This  black  sand  is  nothing  but  pulverized 
magnetic  iron  ore.  Should  the  gold  thus  found 
be  fine,  the  contents  of  the  pan  are  thrown  into 
a  barrel  containing  water,  together  with  a  pound 
or  two  of  mercury.  As  soon  as  the  gold  comes  in 
contact  with  the  mercury  it  combines  vrith  it 
and  forms  an  amalgam.  The  process  is  con- 
tinued until  enough  amalgam  has  been  formed 
to  pay  for  "roasting"  or  "firing."  It  is  then 
squeezed  through  a  buckskin  bag,  all  the  mer- 
cury that  comes  through  the  bag  being  put  back 
into  the  barrel  to  serve  again,  and  what  remains 


m 


^ 

if^** 

s 

II 

-.1' 

■I. 

Ih  i 


fV 


200 


Klondihe. 


in  the  bag  is  placed  in  a  retort,  if  the  miner  has 
one,  or,  if  not,  on  a  shovel,  and  heated  until 
nearly  all  the  mercury  is  vaporized.  The  gold 
then  remains  in  a  lump,  with  some  mercury  still 
held  in  combination  with  it. 

"Thid  IS  culled  the  'pan'  or  'hand'  method, 
and  is  never,  on  account  of  its  slowness  and 
laboriousness,  continued  for  any  length  of  tim* 
when  it  is  possible  to  procure  a  'rocker,'  or  to 
make  and  work  sluices. 

"A  'rocker'  is  simply  a  box  about  three  feet 
long  and  two  wide,  made  in  two  parts,  the  top 
being  shallow,  with  a  heavy  sheet  iron  bottom, 
which  is  punched  full  of  quarter-inch  holes. 
The  other  part  of  the  box  is  fitted  wilh  an  in- 
clined shelf  about  midway  in  its  depth,  which  is 
six  or  eight  inches  lower  at  its  lower  end  than  at 
its  upper.  Over  this  is  placed  a  piece  of  heavy 
Avoolen  blanket.  The  whole  is  then  mounted 
on  two  rockers,  much  resembling  those  of  an 
ordinary  cradle,  and  when  in  use  they  are  placed 
on  two  blocks  of  wood  so  that  the  whole  may  be 
readily  rocked.  After  the  miner  has  selected 
his  claim,  he  looks  for  the  most  convenient  place 
to  set  up  his  'rocker,'  which  must  be  near  a 
good  supply  of  water.  Then  he  proceeds  to 
clear  away  all  the  stones  and  coarse  gravel, 
gathering  the  finer  gravel  and  sand  in  a  heap 
near    the  'rocker.'     The  shallow  box  is  filled 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         201 

with  this,  and  with  one  hand  the  miner  rocks  it, 
while  with  the  other  he  ladles  in  the  water.  The 
finer  matter  with  the  gold  falls  through  the 
holes  on  the  blanket,  which  checks  its  progress, 
and  holds  the  fine  particles  of  gold,  while  the 
sand  and  other  matter  pass  over  it  to  the  bottom 
of  the  box,  which  is  sloped  so  that  what  comes 
through  is  washed  downward  and  finally  out  of 
the  box.  Across  the  bottom  of  the  box  are  fixed 
thin  slats,  behind  which  some  mercury  is  placed 
to  catch  any  particles  of  gold  which  may  escape 
the  blanket.  If  the  gold  is  nuggety,  the  large 
nuggets  are  found  in  the  upper  box,  their  weight 
detaining  them  until  all  the  lighter,  stuff  has 
passed  through,  and  the  smallest  ones  are  held 
by  a  deeper  slat  at  the  outward  end  of  the  bot- 
tom of  the  box.  The  piece  of  blanket  is,  at  in- 
tervals, taken  out  and  rinsed  into  a  barrel;  if  the 
gold  is  fine,  mercury  is  placed  at  the  bottom  of 
the  barrel,  as  already  mentioned. 

^'Sluicing  is  always  employed  when  possible.  It 
requires  a  good  supply  of  water,  with  sufficient 
head  or  fall.  The  process  is  as  follows:  Planks 
are  procured  and  formed  into  a  box  of  suitable 
width  and  depth.  Slats  are  fixed  across  the  bot- 
tom of  the  box  at  intervids,  or  shallow  holes  are 
bored  in  the  bottom,  in  such  order  that  no 
particle  could  run  along  the  bottom  in  a  straight 
line  and  escape  without  running  over  a  hole. 


ft'' 


ipr?» 


■| ' 


I 


202 


Klondike. 


Several  of  these  boxes  are  then  set  up  with  a 
considerable  slope,  and  are  fitted  into  one 
another  at  the  ends  like  a  stovepipe.  A  stream 
of  water  is  now  directed  into  the  upper  end  of 
the  highest  box.  The  gravel  having  been  col- 
lected, as  in  the  case  of  the  rocker,  it  is  shoveled 
into  the  upper  box,  and  is  washed  downward  by 
the  strong  current  of  water.  The  gold  is  de- 
tained by  its  weight,  and  is  held  by  the  slats  or 
in  the  holes  mentioned.  If  it  is  fine,  mercury  is 
placed  behind  the  slats  or  in  these  holes  to  catch 
it.  In  this  way  about  three  times  as  much  dirt 
can  be  washed  as  by  the  rocker,  and  conse- 
quently three  times  as  much  gold  is  secured  in  a 
given  time.  After  the  boxes  are  done  with  they 
are  burned,  and  the  ashes  washed  for  the  gold 
held  in  the  wood. 

**A  great  many  of  the  miners  spend  their  time 
in  the  summer  prospecting,  and  in  the  winter 
resort  to  a  method  lately  adopted  and  which  is 
called  'burning.'  They  make  fires  on  the  sur- 
face, thus  thawing  the  ground  until  the  bedrock 
is  reached ;  then  drift  and  tunnel.  The  pay  dirt  is 
brought  to  the  surface  and  heaped  in  a  pile  until 
spring,  when  water  can  be  obtained.  The  sluice 
boxes  are  then  set  up  and  the  dirt  is  washed  out, 
thus  enabling  the  miner  to  work  advantageously 
and  profitably  the  year  around.  This  method 
has  been  found  very  satisfactory  in  places  where 


1 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         203 


1        )l 


) 


the  pay  streak  is  at  any  great  depth  from  the  sur- 
face. In  this  way  the  complaint,  which  has  been 
so  commonly  advanced  by  the  miners  and  others, 
that  in  the  Yukon  several  months  in  the  year 
are  lost  in  idleness  is  overcome.  Winter  usually 
sets  in  very  soon  after  the  middle  of  Sep- 
tember and  continues  until  the  beginning  of 
June,  and  is  very  cold.  The  mercury  frequently 
falls  to  60  degrees  below  zero,  but  in  the  interior 
there  is  so  little  humidity  in  the  air  that  the  cold 
is  more  easily  endured  than  on  the  coast.  In  the 
absence  of  thermometers,  miners,  it  is  said,  leave 
their  mercury  out  all  night.  When  they  tind  it 
frozen  in  the  morning  they  concluded  that  it  is 
too  cold  to  work  and  stay  at  home.  The  temper- 
ature runs  to  great  extremes  in  summer  as  well 
as  in  the  winter.  It  is  quite  a  common  thing  for 
the  thermometer  to  register  100  degrees  in  the 
shade." 

On  the  westerly  side  of  the  Yukon  prospecting 
has  been  done  on  a  creek  a  short  distance  above 
Ft.  SelkirkjWith  a  fair  amount  of  success,  and  on  a 
large  creek  some  thirty  or  forty  miles  below  that 
point  fair  prospects  have  been  found.  But,  as 
before  remarked,  the  difficulty  of  getting  sup- 
plies there  prevents  any  extensive  or  extended 
prospecting. 

The  report  continues:  **Whenit  was  fairly  es- 
tablished that  Bonanza  Creek,  a  tributary  of  the 


i   V 


\i 


Ifp 


f.imn 


i 


l! 


;l      ! 


204 


Klondike. 


Klondike,  was  rich  in  gold,  which  took  a  few 
days,  for  Klondike  had  been  prospected  several 
times  with  no  encouraging  result,  there  was  a 
great  rush  from  all  over  the  country  adjacent  to 
Forty-Mile.  The  town  was  almost  deserted. 
Men  who  had  been  in  a  chronic  state  of  drunk- 
enness for  weeks  wore  pitched  into  boats  as  bal- 
last and  taken  up  to  stake  themselves  a  claim, 
and  claims  were  staked  by  men  for  their  friends 
who  were  not  in  the  country  at  the  time.  All 
this  gave  rise  to  such  conflict  and  confusion, 
there  being  no  one  present  to  take  charge  of 
matters,  the  agent  being  unable  to  go  up  and  at- 
tend to  the  thing,  and  myself  not  yet  knowing 
what  to  do,  that  the  miners  had  a  meeting  and 
appointed  one  of  themselves  to  measure  off  and 
stake  the  claims  and  record  the  owners'  names 
in  connection  therewith,  for  which  he  got  a  fee 
of  $2,  it  being  of  course  understood  that  each 
claimholder  would  have  to  record  his  clafm  with 
the  Dominion  agent  and  pay  his  fee  of  $15. 

"As  to  the  extent  of  mining  districts  they 
should,  I  think,  be  made  large,  and  Section  21 
amended  to  enable  a  man  who  has  located  a 
claim  which  does  not  pay  a  reasonable  return  on 
outlay  the  first  season  after  his  claim  has  been 
prospected,  to  make  a  second  location  in  the 
same  locality  or  district,  provided  he  can  find 
one  in  it.     The  agent  would  have  to  determine 


A  Mcmual  for  Gold  Seekers.         205 


. 


whether  or  not  he  had  expended  the  proper 
amount  of  labor  on  his  claim  to  get  reasonable 
returns;  this,  I  know,  opens  the  door  for  a  lot  of 
trouble,  and  maybe  fraud,  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  a  great  many  worthy  men  suffer  from  the 
want  of  some  such  regulation,  and  a  very  few 
would  be  in  a  position  to  take  advantage  of  such 
a  provision  until  after  their  second  season,  and 
then  there  would  hardly  be  anything  left  for 
them  to  take.  Enterprising,  industrious  men, 
who  would  work  almost  continuously,  might  get 
some  benefit,  probably  would,  but  no  others,  so 
such  a  regulation  could  not  do  very  much  harm, 
and  might  help  some  deserving  people.  As  it 
is  now,  men  stake  claims  on  nearly  every  new 
find,  some  having  several  claims  in  the  Klondike 
locality.  They  know,  I  believe,  that  they  will 
not  be  able  to  hold  them,  but  as  the  localities  are 
not  yet  clearly  defined,  they  can  hold  on  to  them 
for  awhile,  and  finally,  by  collusion  with  others, 
acquire  an  interest  in  them.'* 

The  same  surveyor  reports  that  a  quartz  lode 
showing  free  gold  in  paying  quantities  and  test- 
ing more  than  $100  to  the  ton  has  been  discov- 
ered nineteen  miles  from  the  Yukon.  His  in- 
formation was  that  the  lode  is  from  three  to 
eight  feet  in  thickness.  "I  am  confident,"  he 
concludes,  "from  the  nature  of  the  gold  found 
in  the  creeks,  that  many  more  quartz  lodes,  and 


li 


i 


If'  ii: 


1  i  j  1 


t 


206 

• 

Klondike. 

« 

rich, 

too,  will  be  found.    The 

yellow  metal  is 

not 

found  in  paying  quantities  in 

the  main  river. 

but 

\( 


: 


in  the  small  streams  wliich  cut  through  the 
mountains  on  either  side.  In  most  cases  the 
gold  lies  at  the  bottom  of  thick  gravel  and  clay 
deposits.  The  gold  is  covered  by  frozen  ground 
in  the  winter.  During  the  summer,  until  the 
snow  is  melted,  the  surface  is  covered  by  muddy 
torrents.  After  the  snow  is  all  melted  and  the 
springs  begin  to  freeze,  the  streams  dry  up.  In 
the  Klondike  district  there  are  134  rich  claims 
being  worked;  two  men  on  each  claim.  Many 
claims  beyond  this  number  are  staked  off,  but 
the  yield  of  gold  is  poor  in  comparison." 

In  the  spring  the  sluicing  begins.  Several  of 
these  boxes  are  then  set  up  with  a  considerable 
slope,  and  are  fitted  into  one  another  at  the  ends, 
like  a  stovepipe.  A  stream  of  water  is  now  di- 
rected into  the  upper  end  of  the  highest  box. 
The  gravel  having  been  collected,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  rocker,  it  is  shoveled  into  the  upper  box, 
and  is  washed  downward  by  the  strong  current 
of  water. 

It  is  safe  to  assume  that  not  ten  per  cent,  of 
the  people  who  have  recently  started  for  the 
Klondike  country,  or  who  contemplate  going, 
have  any  knowledge  of  either  placer  or  quartz 
mining.  Few  of  them  know  the  meaning  of 
"pan,"   "rocker"  or   "torn,"  but  all  have  an 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         207 


abiding  fa'  h  in  their  ability  to  learn  how  to 
operate  those  things.  To  the  old-time  gold- 
miner  the  pan  is  an  indispensable  companion. 
It  is  twelve  inches  in  diameter  at  the  bottom, 
and  from  fifteen  to  sixteen  inches  on  the  top,  the 
sides  inclining  outward  at  an  angle  of  about 
thirty  degrees,  and  being  turned  over  a  wire 
around  the  edge  to  make  it  strong.  It  is  gen- 
erally used  in  prospecting  and  cleaning  gold- 
bearing  sand,  and  in  collecting  amalgam  from 
the  sluices.  There  is  a  certain  amount  of  skill 
required  in  its  use,  which  can  only  be  gained  by 
actual  practice.  The  pan  is  filled  with  dirt  and 
submerged  in  a  tub  or  pool  of  water,  and  the 
gravel  worked  with  the  hand  until  all  the  hard 
material  is  disintegrated.  Of  course  stones  are 
cleaned  and  thrown  out  and  then  what  remains 
in  the  pan  is  carefully  washed.  By  a  circular 
motion  and  the  use  of  the  water  all  the  lighter 
dirt  is  worked  to  the  top  and  over  the  edge  until 
only  the  fine  gold  remains. 

A  box  forty  inches  long  and  sixteen  wide  on 
the  bottom  with  the  twelve-inch  sides  sloped  like 
a  cradle,  constitutes  the  rocker.  The  upper  end 
is  a  hopper  twenty  inches  square  and  four  inches 
deep,  with  perforated  iron  bottom  vith  half- 
inch  holes.  Under  the  perforated  plate  is  a 
light  frame  placed  at  an  incline  upon  which  a 
canvas  apron  is  stretched,  forming  a  riffle.     The 


it 


n. 


Ij    ¥  |S' 


li  1 


¥: 


ii 


208 


Klondike. 


gravel  is  thrown  into  the  hopper  and  water  is 
poured  in  with  a  dipper  held  in  one  hand  while 
the  other  is  employed  in  "rocking'*  the  cradle. 
The  water  washes  the  sand  to  the  bottom  of  the 
hopper  and  the  gold  is  caught  in  the  apron  or 
picked  up  in  the  bottom  of  the  rocker,  while  the 
sand  and  lig^  ter  material  a  e  discharged  at  the 
lower  end.  In  the  "torn"  the  miner  finds  a 
rough  trough  twelve  feet  long,  fifteen  by  twenty 
inches  wide  at  the  top,  thirty  inches  wide  at  the 
lower  end,  and  eight  inches  deep  for  its  entire 
length.  If  the  "torn"  be  set  on  timbers  or 
stones,  it  is  given  an  incline  of  one  inch  to  the 
foot.  A  sheet-iron  plate  perforated  with  holes 
— say  half  an  inch  in  dianeter — forms  the  bot- 
tom of  the  lower  end  of  the  trough,  which  is 
beveled  on  the  lower  side  in  order  to  keep  the 
plate  on  a  level.  The  sand  when  fed  in  from 
the  sluices  on  striking  the  perforated  plate  is  im- 
mediately sorted,  the  fine  dirt  with  the  water 
passing  through  it,  while  the  coarser  dirt  and 
rock  is  shoveled  off.  Under  the  perforated 
plate  is  a  flat  box  into  which  the  finer  gravel 
passes.  By  the  continual  discharge  of  water 
through  the  plate  and  with  the  occasional  aid  of 
a  shovel,  the  sand  is  kept  loose,  allowing  the  gold 
to  settle. 

The  mining  methods  of  the  Klondike  are  very 
strange  and  are  adapted  to  peculiar  conditions. 


i\ 


Gold  Miners  at  Work.— Page  209, 


J'i  i 
Iji" ; 


m 


m 


i 


Itfi 


ipil 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 


209 


I 


There  pay  gravel  happens  to  lie  several  feet 
below  the  mucky  beds  of  the  creeks  and  must  be 
mined  out.  At  nearly  all  the  other  Yukon 
placers  ranged  along  the  river  for  300  miles,  the 
gold  is  in  surface  gravel.  In  these  diggings  little 
or  nothing  can  be  done  except  from  about  June 
15  to  September  1,  when  the  water  runs. 

On  the  Klondike  the  running  water  prevents 
mining  out  the  gravel  under  the  creek  beds,  and 
so  it  is  all  taken  out  during  the  months  when 
everything  is  frozen  solid,  and  when  the  icy 
chains  break  in  the  short  summer  the  gravel  that 
has  been  mined  is  quickly  sluiced  and  the  gold 
cleaned  up.  Prospecting  consists  of  sinking  a 
shaft  to  bedrock  by  the  creek,  by  alternately 
thawing  the  ground  with  fires  and  digging  it 
out.  When  the  bottom  is  reached  the  prospector 
knows  more  than  he  did  before.  If  a  pan  of 
bottom  gravel  washed  out  with  water  from 
melted  ice  shows  up  rich  the  claim  is  worked  by 
tunneling  in. 

In  doing  this  dry  wood  is  placed  against  the 
face  of  the  drift,  and  other  pieces  are  thickly  set 
slantwise  over  them.  As  the  fire  burns  gravel 
falls  down  from  above  and  gradually  covers  the 
slanting  shield  of  wood.  The  fire  smolders 
away  and  becomes  a  charcoal-burning.  It  is  in 
this  confined  stage  during  the  night  that  its  heat 
is  most  effective  against  the  face  of  the  drift. 


H: 


m 


m 


f 


;;.    (I  1 


•M 


210 


Klondike. 


I 


^-!      It 


:'  \  • 


:i    '  I 


V^rlii 


Next  day  the  miner  finds  the  faoe  of  his  drift 
thawed  out  for  a  distance  of  from  ten  to  eight- 
een inches,  according  to  conditions.  He  shovels 
out  the  dirt,  and  if  only  a  part  is  pay  dirt  he 
puts  only  that  on  his  dump.  Thus  at  the  rate 
of  a  few  inches  a  day  the  drifting  out  of  the  pre- 
cious gravel  goes  on  during  the  long  winter. 

The  descriptions  by  the  returned  miners  show 
that,  as  usual,  while  much  of  the  gravel  just 
above  bedrock  is  wonderfully  rich,  the  bedrock 
itself  is  the  richest  depository.  The  bedrock 
appears  to  be  everywhere  cracked  and  broken 
up  by  frost  and  glacial  action.  It  is  thus  full  of 
crevices  and  interstices  filled  with  a  clayey 
gravel,  and  it  is  these  crevices  which  yield  most 
richly.  "Crevicing"  is  familiar  to  all  placer 
miners,  but  there  is  here  something  unusual — a 
phenomenal  multiplication  of  crevices  in  bed- 
rock, and  they  are  described  as  often  extending 
downward  several  feet.  No  specimens  of  the 
rock  have  been  ^rought  down,  and  there  is  no 
reliable  identification  of  it  as  yet.  This  bedrock 
is  so  greatly  broken  up  in  the  way  described  that 
no  blasting  is  necessary.  It  is  easily  removed 
with  picks,  and  is  simply  thrown  on  the  dumps 
to  be  sluiced  as  the  gravel  is. 

The  gold  so  concentrated  in  the  crevices  sticks 
to  the  clinging  gravel  and  clay,  and  is  in  the 
residue  which  is  shoveled  out  too,  of  course. 


if?!- 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seclcers.  211 

Not  one  has  given  the  slightest  description  of 
the  fields  as  a  mining  engineer  would  like  to 
hear  it.  Inquiry  as  to  whether  any  '^raining 
expert"  had  been  heard  of  in  the  Yukon  elicited 
the  reply: 

"Yes,  there  is  a  fellow  up  there  who  pretends 
to  know  a  lot,  I  believe.  That's  'Swift-Water 
Bill.'    I  don't  know  his  other  name." 

A  Mr.  Grewe  is  one  of  the  lucky  Argonauts. 
When  he  went  to  Alaska  he  proceeded  to  Forty- 
Mile  Creek,  about  700  miles  overland  from  tl  o 
coast,  and  in  the  midst  of  what  have  been  re- 
cently termed  the  Klondike  gold  fields.  The 
location  can  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  accom- 
panying map  in  this  book.  It  was  on  one  of  the 
branches  of  the  above-named  creek  where  he  and 
his  partner  staked  ofE  their  claims.  The  miners 
always  work  in  couples,  as  to  do  the  work  prop- 
erly requires  two  men,  especially  when  they  toil 
through  the  winter;  and  that  is  necessary  if 
health  permits  and  one  determines  to  make  big 
money. 

"The  first  thing  done,"  said  Mr.  Grewe  in 
describing  the  operations  of  himself  and  com- 
panion, "was  to  sink  a  shaft  alongside  the  creek 
twenty  to  forty  feet  deep,  this  work  being  done 
in  the  winter.  First  of  all  a  fire  was  built  where 
the  shaft  was  dug,  in  order  to  melt  the  ice,  which 
is  usually  three  or  four  feet  thick,  and  get  at 


4-i  ■ 


I.- 

ill 


212 


Klondike. 


m 

if 

J 

tl! 

'  i 
III 


V 
i 


Hi 


the  soil.  Then  picks  are  used  until  a  sufficient 
depth  is  obtained.  From  this  shaft  are  run 
tunnels  in  the  bed  of  the  creek,  the  water  of 
which,  of  course,  is  f  ozen  solid.  Before  this  is 
done,  however,  a  windlass  is  rigged  with  two 
buckets,  and  all  dirt,  sand  or  gravel  hauled  up 
and  piled  near  by.  In  these  tunnels  are  built 
fires,  which  are  left  to  burn  over  night  and  then 
in  the  morning  commences  the  work  of  removing 
the  slush  and  sand,  which  is  hauled  to  the  top 
of  the  shaft  and  added  to  the  pile  of  frozen  dirt 
and  gold  already  there.  Such  work  as  this  is 
continued  all  winter." 

As  the  tunnels  are  run  with  the  course  of  the 
stream  it  should  be  understood  that  the  dirt  or 
sand  sent  to  the  top  of  the  shaft  is  the  sediment 
deposited  at  the  bottom  of  the  river.  While, 
says  Mr.  Grewe,  the  man  in  the  tunnel  has  the 
more  comfortable  half  of  the  job,  still  he  suffers 
much  from  the  smoke,  the  only  outlet  for  which 
is  the  shaft.  The  man  at  the  windlass  has  a 
terrible  time  of  it,  because,  as  the  thermometer 
ranges  from  40  to  60  degrees  below  zero  and 
sometimes  lower,  he  is  frequently  compelled  to 
quit  work. 

In  summer,  and  that  season  is  only  from  threo 
to  four  months  long,  active  outdoor  work  begins. 
The  ice  melts  and  the  streams  are  swollen. 
Then    the    miners    build    sluices,    or  troughs. 


' 


Vl^'J' 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.  213 

usually  twelve  in  number,  which  are  placed  end 
to  end  and  a  stream  turned  into  them.  The 
first  few  are  of  smooth  bottom,  and  the  last  three 
are  crossed  with  cleats.  The  sand  is  thrown 
into  the  head  of  the  sluice,  and  by  the  time  it 
reaches  the  last  sluices  the  gold  is  there  deposited. 
The  quantity  of  gold  caught  in  this  manner 
varies  greatly,  and  much  of  it  is  naturally  lost. 
Sometimes  in  a  bucket  of  dirt  there  may  be 
three  or  four  ounces  of  gold.  The  largest  nug- 
get Mr.  Grewe  found  was  worth  $7. 

Captain  J.  F.  Higgins,  who  has  commanded 
one  of  the  river  boats,  says: 

"The  word  Klondike  means  Fish  River,  and 
the  stream  is  called  the  Fish  River  on  the  charts. 
It  empties  into  the  Yukon  fifty  miles  above  the 
Big  River.  The  geographical  position  of  the 
junction  is  76  degrees,  10  minutes  north  lati- 
tude, 138  degrees,  50  minutes  west  longitude. 
Bonanza  Creek  dumps  into  the  Klondike  about 
two  miles  above  the  Yukon.  El  Dorado  is  a  trib- 
utary of  the  Bonanza.  There  are  numerous 
other  creeks  and  tributaries,  the  main  river  being 
3,000  miles  long. 

"The  gold  so  far  has  been  taken  from  Bonanza 
and  El  Dorado,  both  well  named,  for  the  richness 
of  the  placers  is  truly  marvelous.  El  Dorado, 
thirty  miles  long,  is  staked  the  whole  length  and 
as  far  as  worked  has  paid. 


•ill 


m 


214 


Klondilce. 


ill 


'iM-i 


"One  of  our  passengers  who  is  taking  home 
$100,000  with  him  has  worked  100  feet  of  his 
ground  and  refused  $200,000  for  the  remainder, 
and  confidently  expects  to  clean  up  $400,000  and 
more.  He  has  in  a  bottle  $213  from  one  pan  of 
dirt.  His  pay  dirt  while  being  washed  averaged 
$250  an  hour  to  each  man  shoveling  in.  Two 
others  of  our  miners  who  worked  their  own  claim 
cleaned  up  IG,000  from  one  day's  washing. 

**There  is  about  fifteen  feet  of  dirt  above  bed- 
rock, the  pay  streak  averaging  from  four  to  six 
feet,  which  is  tunneled  out  while  the  ground  is 
frozen.  Of  course  the  dirt  taken  out  is  thawed 
by  building  fires;  and  when  the  summer  thaw 
comes  and  water  rushes  in,  they  set  their  sluices 
and  wash  the  dirt.  Two  of  our  fellows  thought 
a  small  bird  in  the  hand  worth  a  large  one  in  the 
bush,  and  sold  their  claims  for  $45,000,  getting 
$4,500  down,  the  remainder  to  be  paid  in  monthly 
installments  of  $10,000  each.  The  purchasers 
had  no  more  than  $5,000  paid.  They  were 
twenty  days  thawing  and  getting  out  the  dirt. 
Then  there  was  no  water  to  sluice  with,  but  one 
fellow  made  a  rocker,  and  in  ten  days  took  out 
the  $10,000  for  the  first  installment.  So  tunnel- 
ing and  rocking,  they  took  out  $40,000  before 
there  was  water  to  sluice  with. 

"Of  course,  these  things  read  like  the  story  of 
Aladdin,  but  fiction  is  not  at  all  in  it  with  facta 


^  ( 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         216 


at  Klondike.  The  ground  located  and  pros- 
pected can  be  worked  out  in  a  ftw  years,  but 
there  is  an  immense  territory  untouched,  and 
the  laboring  man  who  can  get  there  with  one 
year's  provisions  will  have  a  better  chance  to 
make  a  stake  than  in  any  other  part  of  the 
world/' 

According  to  Dr.  W.  11.  Dall,  one  of  the 
curators  of  the  National  Museum  at  Washington: 

*'The  yellow  metal  is  not  found  in  paying 
quantities  in  the  main  river,  but  in  the  small 
streams  which  cut  through  the  mountains  on 
either  side.  These  practically  wash  out  the 
gold.  The  mud  and  mineral  matter  is  carried 
into  the  main  river,  while  the  gold  is  left  on  the 
rough  bottoms  of  these  side  streams.  In  most 
cases  the  gold  lies  at  the  bottom  of  thick  gravel 
deposits. 

"Blasting  would  do  no  good  on  account  of  the 
hard  nature  of  the  material  which  would  blow  out 
just  as  out  of  a  gun.  The  shafts  vary  indepth  from 
six  feet  up  to  eighteen  or  twenty.  The  gravel 
takenout  is  dumped  into  a  pile  and  left  till  spring, 
when  sluice  boxes  are  made  and  the  dirt  washed 
out.  When  the  creeks  thaw  in  the  spring  the 
miners  work  day  and  night  at  their  sluicing  in 
order  to  get  as  much  of  their  dump  washed  out  as 
possible  before  the  creeks  get  low.  In  the  crevices 
running  across  the  creek  are  found  a  great  deal 


^1 


i 


216 


Klondike. 


of  gold,  and  from  these  come  the  big  pans  of 
which  so  much  has  been  said.  These  crevices 
are  split  in  the  bedrock,  and  act  as  basins  to 
catch  the  gold  washed  out  by  the  creek. 

**Up  to  this  time  all  the  work  has  been  placer 
mining,  and  few,  if  any,  investigations  have 
been  made  as  to  the  quartz  deposits.  The  re- 
turned miners  say  that  there  is  not  the  slightest 
doubt  of  the  existence  of  rich  quartz  ledges,  and 
it  is  expected  that  they  will  now  be  looked  into, 
and  plans  made  to  work  them  by  the  gold  hunt- 
ers whom  the  announcement  of  the  late  discov- 
eries has  started  for  the  fields." 

The  claims  on  the  Bonanza  are  numbered  from 
the  point  of  discovery  both  up  and  down  the 
creek.  These  claims  are  500  feet  long  and  ex- 
tend from  "mountain  to  mountain.'*  When  a 
miner  stakes  a  claim  it  costs  him  $15  to  record 
it,  and  $100  each  succeeding  year.  He  is 
obliged  to  work  the  claim  for  three  months  in 
each  year.  If  it  is  left  idle  it  can  be  jumped. 
The  location  of  claims  is  not  restricted  to  Amer- 
icans, but  is  open  to  all  nationalities. 

Mr.  Ogilvie  announces  the  location  of  a  quartz 
lode  showing  free  gold  in  paying  quantities 
along  one  of  the  creeks.  The  quartz  has  tested 
over  1100  a  ton.  The  lode  appears  to  run  from 
three  to  eight  feet  in  thickness,  and  is  about 
nineteen  miles  from  the  Yukon  Kiver.    Good 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         217 


. 


quartz  has  been  found  also  at  the  head  of  a 
branch  of  the  Alaska  River  near  the  head  of  the 
Chilkat  Inlet  inside  the  summit  of  the  coast 
range  in  Canadian  Territory;  also  along  Davis 
Creek  in  American  Territory.  The  hills  around 
Bonanza  Creek  also  contain  paying  quartz. 
Copper  in  abundance  is  found  on  the  southerly 
branch  of  the  White  Biver,  and  silver  ore  has 
been  picked  up  in  a  creek  flowing  into  Bennett 
Lake.  Mr.  Ogilvie  says  that  the  placer  pros- 
pects continice  to  be  more  and  more  encouraging 
and  extraordinary. 

"It  is  beyond  a  doubt,"  he  says,  "that  three 
pans  of  different  claims  on  El  Dorado  turned  out 
$204,  1212,  and  $21G,  but  it  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  there  were  only  three  such  pans, 
though  there  are  many  running  from  110  to  $50. 
Since  my  last,  the  prospects  on  Bonanza  Creek 
and  tributaries  are  increasing  in  richness  and 
extent,  until  now  it  is  certain  millions  will  be 
taken  out  of  the  district  in  the  next  few  years. 
On  some  of  the  cl  "^rs  prospected  the  pay  dirt  is 
of  great  extent  and  very  rich.  One  man  told  me 
yesterday  that  he  washed  out  a  single  pan  of  dirt 
on  one  of  the  claims  on  Bonanza  Creek  and 
found  $14.25  in  it.  Of  course,  that  may  be  an 
exceptionally  rich  pan,  but  $5  to  $7  per  pan  is 
the  average  on  that  claim,  it  is  reported,  with 
five  feet  pay  dirt  and  the  width  yet  undeter- 


I 


I 


i 


.1  1 


1|    H  ,1 

']'             f 

i''     '       .   .  '        i 

t    1            •     1        1     r   1 

1^ 

,!i  iirr 

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i           ;  ^'i 

It  i!ll:^ 

-i 

, 

v'^  f 

1  r:;i 

:     1   •'  ' 

mki^i 

218 


Klondike, 


mined,  but  known  to  be  thirty  feet;  even  at  that 
figure  the  result  at  nine  to  ten  pans  to  the  cubic 
foot,  and  500  feet  long,  is  $4,000,000  at  15  per 
pan.  One-fourth  of  this  would  be  enormous. 
Enough  prospecting  has  been  done  to  show  that 
there  are  at  least  fifteen  miles  of  this  extraor- 
dinary richness,  and  the  indications  are  that  wo 
will  have  three  or  four  times  that  extent,  if  not 
equal  to  the  above,  at  least  very  rich." 

Short  extracts  from  longer  statements  follow: 

"I  do  not  know  in  the  whole  Klondike  region 
a  single  claim  that  has  not  paid  handsomely,  and 
there  are  still  hundreds  of  claims  that  have  not 
been  worked." 

"In  testing  a  claim  the  prospector  sinks  a  hole, 
say  fifteen  feet,  and  then  tries  a  pan  of  dirt.  If 
the  pay  streak  h^s  been  reached  he  sets  to  work 
in  earnest  to  gather  in  more  of  the  precious 
metal." 

"I  hav^  ^  men  to  hoist  in  a  day  as  many 

as  250  -d  of  soil,  each  weighing  250  pounds. 

This  V  .s  not  disturbed  until  spring,  when  it 
is  washed  out;  and  when  a  man  buys  a  claim  ho 
buys  the  dump  also,  but  he  takes  his  own 
chances  on  the  latter." 

"Under  the  new  ruling  each  claim  is  500  feet 
along  the  bottom  of  the  creek,  the  width  being 
governed  by  the  distance  between  the  mountains. 
This  will  average  600  feet,  though  there  are 
some  claims  1,000  feet  wide." 


y^-'f- 


1^ 


m 

r-f; 
if* 


fl.' 


A  Ma/nual/or  Gold  Seekers.         219 

In  ordinary  panning  there  is  little  chance  of 
mistaking  gold,  both  by  its  yellow  color  and  by 
its  separating  itself  from  all  other  matter  by  its 
specific  gravity.  If  a  prospector  wants  to  show 
the  ''colors"  he  generally  winnows  down  the 
matter  on  the  pan  till  there  is  scarcely  a  tea- 
spoonful,  or  much  less;  then  by  moving  the  pan 
to  and  fro  sideways  he  will  show  the  yellow  gold 
a^op?aring  at  one  end  of  the  teaspoonful  of  other 
matter  like  a  gilt  edging,  so  to  speak,  commonly 
showing  very  distinct  by  its  gold-yellow  color — 
which  may  be  a  rich  gold-yellow  or  a  paler  tint. 
The  "other  matter"  may  be  composed,  especially 
if  there  are  stamp  mills  up  stream,  of  com- 
minuted iron  pyrites.  The  gold,  however,  wi^l 
be  distinct  from  this  by  its  richer  color,  and  ale 
will  readily  separate  itself  from  it  by  its 
gravity,  forming  a  sort  of  gilt  edging  around 
the  *'other  matter.'*  Pyrite  will  appear  of  a 
duller,  more  tin-like,  or  brass-like,  or  even 
greenish  color  than  the  bright  gold.  Tlie  other 
common  residual  matter  is  so-called  **black 
sand,"  usually  composed  of  magnetic  iron.  This 
ccxtainly  will  not  amalgamate  under  any  cir- 
cumstances. Grains  of  platinum,  sometimes — 
but  rarely — occurring  with  placer  gold,  will, 
however,  amalgamate.  You  can  separate  the 
black  sand  by  picking  it  off  with  a  magnet. 
Bronze  or  yellowish  oxidized  mica,  from  its  light 


220 


Klondike. 


V  i  \ 


\i\\ 


i 


Wh 


II 


f  i 
V 


1 

'  :'  ' 

j 

IL 

,1  ■ 

'4L 

specific  gravity,  quickly  separates  from  the  gold 
and  is  winnowed  off,  commonly  at  an  early  stage 
in  the  winnowing  process,  or  must  finally  pass 
away  in  faithful  winnowing  of  the  residuum. 
Bronze  mica  does  not  carry  any  appreciable 
amount  of  gold. 

Gold  does  sometimes  occ  ir  in  leafy,  chaff-like 
forms  in  a  placer,  when  it  will  float  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  water,  and  you  may  find  it  diflScnlt 
to  keep  it  from  washing  away  with  the  other 
stuff.  If  you  let  the  pan  dry  and  let  the  flakes 
adhere  to  the  bottom,  directly  you  put  water  in 
the  flakes  will 'float  again.  Of  course  they  will 
amalgamate.  Gold  is  generally  pretty  distinct 
yellow  gold  in  a  placer,  though  often  tarnished 
in  veins. 

A  "lay"  means  a  privilege  to  work  another 
man's  claim,  and  to  "burn"  a  "lay"  means  to 
thaw  out  a  hole  by  building  a  big  fire  on  the 
ground. 

Upon  the  banks  or  in  the  beds  of  streams  in 
gold  territory,  there  will  be  found,  as  every  wherp 
on  streams,  an  admixture  of  sand,  gravel  and 
soil.  These  have  been  mi^ed  together  by  action 
of  the  water  pouring  do,.n  the  streams  and  hill- 
bides  for  ages.  Just  how  gold  has  been  formed  is 
not  known,  but  in  this  admixture  of  sand,  gravel 
and  soil  it  is  found  in  particles  so  small  as  to  be 
about  invisible^  and  from  that  on  up  to  the  size 


A  Manual  for  Gold  SerHra.         221 


of  birdshot,  garden  peas,  hazelnuts,  and  now 
and  then  nuggets  the  size  of  pigeon  eggs.  But 
for  the  most  part  they  are  the  size  of  shot.  If  a 
pan  of  dirt  will  yield  ten  cents'  worth  of  gold,  it 
is  called  "pay  dirt"  and  will  yield  fair  wages  to 
work.  If  it  yields  fifteen  cents,  it  is  promising, 
and  if  twenty  cents  it  is  called  **rich."  As  the 
average  miner  can  gather  and  work  forty  panfuls 
a  day,  if  the  dirt  is  rich,  it  will  be  seen  that  he 
can  make  18  a  day.  But  the  Klondike  places  of 
the  poorest  yield  are  reported  as  turning  out  not 
less  than  thirty  cents'  worth  of  "dust"  to  the 
pan,  and  in  some  places  as  high  as  $1  to  the  pan- 
ful have  been  found. 

An  ounce  of  this  gold  "dust"  at  the  mines  or 
elsewhere  is  worth  from  $15  to  $19,  according  to 
its  purity,  in  coined  gold,  and  passes  for 
"money"  in  the  diggings  or  vicinity,  and  is 
often  the  only  money  they  have  in  the  early 
stages  of  the  mining.  As  every  store,  or  mer- 
chant, in  a  mining  town  has  gold  scales,  and 
accepts  "dust"  as  so  much  coined  money  or 
paper  currency,  but  little  inconvenience  results 
in  business. 

Owing  to  its  remarkable  affinity  for  gold,  mer- 
cury is  extremely  useful  to  the  miner;  unfor- 
tunately its  weight  has  hitherto  prevented  its 
being  generally  employed  on  the  Yukon.  It 
m»v  be  distributed  in  the  sluicc>«,  or  better  still, 


ft-  iJm 


l!i  ■     * 


;f  ■ 


222 


Klondike. 


used  in  connection  with  copper  plates  that  are 
then  said  to  be  "amalgamated."  The  copper 
plates  that  it  is  desired  to  coat  with  quicksilver 
are  first  covered  with  clear  water  two  or  three 
inches  deep.  The  water  is  then  acidulated  with 
sulphuric  acid  until  it  tastes  like  strong  vinegar. 
After  a  short  immersion,  and  when  perfectly 
bright,  the  plates  are  taken  out,  and  before  be- 
coming quite  dry  are  rubbed  with  quicksilver,  the 
rubbing  being  done  with  a  piece  of  chamois  skin. 
The  plates  are  then  washed  in  cold  water  and 
fitted  to  the  bottoms  of  the  sluices.  Any  "free" 
gold  brought  to  them  by  the  current  is  imme- 
diately attracted  and  remains  fast  to  the  surface 
of  the  plate.  When  the  plates  are  heavily  in- 
crusted  with  gold  they  are  removed,  strongly 
heated  over  live  coals  and  the  precious  metal 
scraped  off. 


Baa 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         223 


PROSPECTING. 


%i. 


The  prospector  is  the  pioneer  in  the  work  of 
mineral  development.  He  is  the  pathfinder  to 
hidden  wealth.  His  part  is  wholly  initiative;  his 
role  is  at  an  end  almost  invariably  with  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  fixed  value  on  his  "find."  Yet 
without  the  prospector  we  should  be  as  free  of 
mines  as  the  country  would  be  of  approved 
methods  of  manufacture  without  the  inventor. 
An  individual  idea  is  essentially  an  originality, 
and  it  is  but  natural  that  when  a  man  chooses  an 
avocation  he  has  ideas  peculiarly  his  own  con- 
cerning its  conduct.  The  adaptation  of  peculiar 
individual  ideas  in  the  conduct  of  mining  opera- 
tions, from  the  quest  for  a  paying  ledge  to  the 
development  of  amine  to  a  point  of  profitable  ex- 
traction, has  been  the  cause  in  nine  instances  out 
of  ten  of  every  mining  venture  recorded  as 
failure.  Mining  is  admittedly  a  business,  but 
only  when  conducted  along  legitimate  lines. 
Mining  requires  ability  and  experience,  push 
and  perseverance,  essential  factors  to  success  in 
any  enterprise.    Its  adoption  by  a  novice,  lik^ 


i^ii 


III 


I 


i 

i 


224 


Klondike. 


IsM  I 


!l 


if 


,il 


I*  ■■ 


.f)* 


lii 


anything  else,  must  needs  be  attended  sometimes 
with  disaster,  but  if  pursued  with  tact  and  en- 
ergy, governed  by  the  exercise  of  common  sense 
and  a  willingness  to  heed  the  advice  and  counsels 
of  more  experienced  men,  mining  oiBfers  to-day 
as  safe  a  channel  to  competency  as  does  banking 
or  the  various  lines  of  trade. 

Prospecting,  from  a  mining  standpoint,  might 
best  be  termed  a  search  for  rocks  containing 
mineral  of  recognized  value.  Prerequisites  of 
the  prospector,  would  he  have  success  crown  his 
efforts,  are  brains,  brawn,  and  perseverance.  He 
is  fortunate,  indeed,  if  he  has  armed  himself, 
prior  to  embarkment  to  the  pursuit,  with  a 
knowledge  of  practical  assaying,  and  of  geology 
sufficient  to  give  him  an  insight  into  the  various 
formations  and  the  indications  usually  illustrated 
thereby,  and  of  mineralogy,  that  he  may  with  a 
fair  degree  of  accuracy  know  the  different  ores, 
and  reasonably  approximate  their  commercial 
worth.  By  a  fair  idea  of  practical  assaying  is 
meant  the  ability,  minus  a  furnace  and  the  usual 
field  assay  outfit,  to  arrive  at  a  reasonably  close 
idea  of  the  value  of  an  ore  with  the  aid  of  a 
home-made  affair  or  a  blacksmith's  forge,  and 
such  chemicals  as  every  experienced  prospector  of 
our  times  now  deems  as  requisite  a  part  of  his 
outfit  as  his  pick,  shovel,  and  pan.  His  insight 
into  geologic  conditions  he  must  gain  by  that 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         225 


best  of  preceptors — observation;  of  mineralogy 
by  as  careful  a  comparison  of  the  different  rocks 
encountered.  If  possessed  of  the  knowledge 
outlined,  the  shrewd  prospector  will  take  careful 
note  of  the  topographical  conditions  governing 
the  area  about  to  be  prospected,  and  as  far  as 
possible  gain  some  idea  concerning  its  geological 
features.  The  rocks  termed  "float"  will  next 
engage  his  careful  attention.  Float,  singularly, 
is  a  detached  piece  of  quartz,  or  ore,  from  a 
ledge,  lode,  or  deposit  of  like  material.  A  piece 
of  float  picked  up  for  examination  is  found 
smooth  and  well  worn.  This  fact  is  evidence 
that  its  mother  lode  lies  at  a  distance  from  where 
it  is  found.  If  its  contour,  on  the  contrary,  be 
rough,  and  its  edges  pointed,  the  chances  are 
good  that  the  ledge  from  which  it  was  detached 
is  close  at  hand.  This  last  described  float  found 
by  the  prospector,  he  should  next  carefully  scru- 
tinize all  rocks  in  the  vicinity,  looking  to  the 
right  and  to  the  left  as  he  proceeds,  and  turning 
over  all  loose  rocks  in  his  search  for  an  outcrop, 
or  the  exposed  portion  of  the  vein  or  lode,  whence 
came  the  waif  float.  We  will  suppose  the  out- 
crop discovered.  The  prospector  should  next 
ascertain  its  strike  or  trend,  i.e.,  the  direction 
in  which  it  runs,  either  north,  east,  south,  west, 
etc.  This  may  be  determined  by  excavating  a 
series  of  cross-cuts  on  the  surface  of  the  vein  at 


% 

t 


III 


<l 


I 


'}  ', 


226 


Klondike. 


distances  apart  as  equal  as  possible.  These  open 
cross-cuts  will  also  demonstrate  the  thickness  or 
width  of  the  lode,  its  uniformity  and  general 
surface  condition.  This  work  completed,  care 
should  be  exercised  in  ascertaining  the  value  of 
the  surface  ore  contained  in  the  deposit.  If 
assay  results  are  satisfactory,  the  work  of  actual 
development  may  be  proceeded  with. 

So  far  as  demonstrated  some  sixty  or  seventy 
elements  form  the  earth's  crust.  Omnipresent 
among  these  elements  is  oxygen.  The  coloring 
element  is  as  predominantly  iron.  Aqueous, 
igneous,  atmospheric,  and  organic  agencies  are 
constantly  changing  the  character  of  this  crust. 
Atmospheric  agencies — winds,  frost,  etc. — in 
chemical  combination  with  oxygen  and  carbonic 
acid  cause  a  disintegration  and  crumbling  of  the 
different  minerals.  The  aqueous  agency,  or 
action  of  water,  causes  a  wearing  away  or  erosion 
of  these  minerals;  the  same  agency  often  forci- 
bly removing  them  to  long  distances.  The 
igneous  agency,  or  action  of  fire,  is  constantly 
renewing  the  mineral  deposits  of  the  earth's 
crust  through  the  medium  of  eruptive  action,  or 
warm  springs.  Organic  matter  found  on  the  crust 
may  be  traced  to  deposits  of  vegetable  matter. 
Rocks  are  either  hard  or  soft,  stratified,  or  un- 
stratified.  X  stratified  rock  is  either  arenaceous 
(sand),  argillaceous  (clay),  or  calcareous  (lime). 


A  Manual  for  Oold  Seekers.         227 

A  stratified  rock  in  its  natural  position  should  be 
horizontal;  but  it  may  have  been  thrown  up  to 
any  angle  by  reason  of  volcanic  action.  The  un- 
stratified  rocks  being  lower  than  their  stratified 
brethren,  through  the  action  of  volcanic  influ- 
ences, often  cause  the  stratified  rocks  to  enfold 
or  entwine  with  themselves,  causing  the  great 
irregularity  of  stratification. 

The  angle  formed  by  the  plane  of  the  strata 
with  the  plane  of  the  horizon  is  the  *'dip"  of  the 
rock.  The  strike  or  trend  of  a  mineral  forma- 
tion is  always  at  right  angles  to  the  dip.  Non- 
conformity in  stratification  is  caused  by  the 
violent  upheavals  and  dislocations  of  such  strata, 
as  noted  in  several  mineral  districts.  "What  is 
termed  a  "joint"  is  best  described  as  a  crossing 
of  the  stratificalion  by  a  regular  fissure;  hence 
the  term  "a  true  fissure  vein." 

Cleavage  is  a  term  used  in  connection  with  the 
division  of  rocks  into  small  sheets,  or  planes. 

Eruptive  rocks  form  a  distinct  class.  To  it 
belong  granite,  porphyritic  granite,  syenitic, 
albitic  and  graphic  granite.  Granite  is  com- 
posed of  quartz,  feldspar  and  mica.  The  por- 
phyritic granite  is  distinguished  by  its  excess  of 
feldspar;  the  syenitic  because  it  contains  horn- 
blend  instead  of  mica;  the  albitic  is  easily  dis- 
tinguished by  its  white  color;  and  in  the  graphic 
granite  quartz  predominates. 


ii 


.;•  ■ 


ill 


WH 


i 


m 


i 


!^^ 


228 


Klondike. 


Trap  rocks,  so  called,  are  compositions  of 
greenstone,  basalt,  trachyte  and  serpentine. 
The  greenstone  is  generally  found  to  be  com- 
posed of  feldspar  and  hornhlend  of  a  greenish 
color.  The  basalt  is  a  black  or  darkish  brown 
colored  rock,  its  component  parts  being  augite 
and  feldspar.  The  serpentine  is  a  silicate  of 
magnesia,  usually  of  a  greenish  hue.  The 
trachyte  is  a  variety  of  lava  of  a  dark-green  color. 

To  the  class  termed  volcanic  rooks  belong 
obsidian,  a  melted  lava,  appearing  like  smoky 
glass;  pumice,  a  feldspathic  cinder,  very  light  in 
weight;  and  scoria,  the  slaggy  exudation  of 
volcanoes. 

Among  stratified  rocks  are  gneiss,  a  stratified 
granite;  syenitic  gneiss,  containing  hornhlend, 
instead  of  mica;  mica  schist;  hypogene  lime- 
stone, blue  in  color;  chlorate  schist,  a  magnesian 
mineral,  soft  and  flexible;  hornhlend  schist,  col- 
ored by  oxide  of  iron  to  a  greenish-black  color; 
clay  slate,  an  argillaceous  rock;  and  the  various 
members  of  the  quartz  family.  The  three  prin- 
cipal members  of  the  quartz  family  with  which  the 
prospector  will  deal  are  the  vitreous,  calcidonic 
and  jasper.  Among  the  vitreous  varieties  are 
amethyst,  a  purple  colored  rock,  colored  by 
oxide  of  manganese;  the  topaz,  color  yellow; 
smoky  quartz,  known  as  cairngorm  quartz;  milky 
quartz  and  the  yellowr,  green,  and  red  quartzes. 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         229 

Oxide  of  iron  is  the  coloring  element  in  all  these 
rocks.  Calcidonic  quartzes  are  known  as  the 
sardonyx,  carnelian,  agate,  onyx,  cat's-eye  and 
flint  hornstono.  The  jaspers  are  the  opal, 
touchstone,  bloodstone  and  wood  jasper. 

Quartzite  is  a  quartz  sand  metamorphosed  by 
pressure  into  a  hard  mass  through  the  agency  of 
silica.  It  occurs  in  the  large  masses,  inter-strati- 
fied with  limestones,  slates,  and  schists. 

There  are  five  members  of  the  spar  family,  and 
all  are  distinguished  by  their  coloration.  Feld- 
spar is  either  of  a  white  or  pinkish  hue,  and 
pearl  spar  of  a  pearly  luster.  Fluorspar  is  gen- 
erally in  masses,  though  often  found  in  cubes. 
Heavy  spar,  or  baryta,  is  known  by  its  brown  or 
dark  brown  color.  Calcspar,  or  calcite,  is  a 
crystalline  carbonite  of  lime,  white,  red  or  yel- 
low in  color,  these  colors  being  the  result  of  the 
mixture  of  iron,  manganese,  and  other  coloring 
impurities. 

The  inexperienced  prospector  often  mistakes 
mica  for  gold.  Mica  may  be  detected  in  several 
ways.  Though  it  may  look  like  gold  in  certain 
positions,  if  that  position  be  changed  there  will 
be  a  change  in  the  color,  while  gold  itself  looks 
the  same  in  every  position.  Gold  will  beat  out 
thin  and  soft  under  the  hammer  like  lead,  while 
mica  breaks  up  in  fine  particles  of  a  white  floury- 
looking  substance.  In  panning  a  sample  the 
gold  will  remain  and  the  mica  float  away. 


« 


pi- 


1) 


■^ 


).       ! 


230 


Klondike. 


Gold  will  dissolve  in  a  solution  of  aqua  regia, 
made  of  three  parts  hydrochloric  acid  and  one 
part  nitric  acid.  If  you  add  some  sulphate  of 
iron  you  will  get  a  very  decided  precipitate  of 
metallic  gold.  It  is  best  to  add  a  lit^'e  water 
after  the  gold  is  dissolved,  then  a  little  hydro- 
chloric acid,  and  then  the  sulphate  of  iron.  The 
gold  is  then  placed  in  a  crucible  or  ladle  and 
heated,  and  a  yellow  bead  of  pure  gold  obtained. 

Another  simple  test  for  gold  is  to  add  to  the 
dissolved  gold  some  crystals  of  chloride  of  tin, 
when  you  will  get  a  purple  color,  known  to 
chemists  as  the  purple  of  Cassius. 

Fissure  veins,  in  which  permanent  gold  mines 
may  be  expected,  are  usually  ascribed  to  volcanic 
action.  They  are  sometimes  called  leads,  and 
sometimes  lodes.  These  veins  may  contain 
quartz,  fluorspar,  heavy  spar  o.  baryta,  calcite 
and  dolomite,  associated  with  the  precious 
metals.  It  has  been  ascertained  that  it  is  among 
the  silicious  rocks,  such  as  granite,  that  mineral- 
ized quartz  s  most  frequently  found.  When  a 
vein  is  broken  or  dislocated  it  is  said  by  miners 
to  be  ''faulted."  The  gangue  is  the  worthless 
matter  of  the  lead. 

Quartz  containing  gold  is  generally  of  a  rusty 
color,  though  some  very  valuable  gold  leads  are 
pure  white  and  show  evidence  to  the  naked  eye 
of  the  treasure  they  contain.     Sometimes  this 


ih 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         281 

rusty  gold  is  very  difficult  to  save,  escaping  all 
attempts  at  amalgamating  it  with  quicksilver, 
owing  probably  to  a  thin  film  of  iron  oxide  coat- 
ing it  and  preventing  contact  with  the  mercury. 
The  tenderfoot  prospectv  is  often  deceived  by 
substances  resembling  gold.  Iron  pyrites  bear  a 
strong  likeness  to  the  precious  metal,  especially 
when  in  the  form  of  small  cubes  or  dice  em- 
bedded in  a  quartz  gangue.  Copper  pyrites  and 
yellow  mica  also  simulate  to  the  inexperienced 
the  metal  of  which  they  are  in   3aroh. 


i^v 


u 


If 


Uu 


232 


Klondike. 


! 


THE  CLIMATE. 

Much  misconception  as  to  the  climate  of  the 
gold  fields  has  arise^i  from  the  fact  that  for  a 
long  time  the  only  records  available  were  those 
of  the  United  States  Government  officers  sta- 
tioned at  Sitka,  St.  Michael's  Island,  the  Seal 
Islands,  or  at  Point  Barrow  within  the  Arctic  cir- 
cle. Meteorological  records  from  these  points 
give  about  as  accurate  a  conception  of  the  climate 
at  Dawson  City  as  would  a  report  of  the  weather 
from  Philadelphia  of  the  climatic  conditions  of 
Helena,  Montana. 

The  contingent  of  Northwest  Mounted  Police 
whicn  left  for  the  Yukon  in  1895  was  supplied 
with  accurate  thermometers  by  the  Toronto 
Meteorological  Service.  The  observations  were 
commenced  at  Fort  Constantine  in  November, 
1895,  by  Staff  Sergeant  Hayne,  who  has  furnished 
returns  up  to  the  close  of  May,  1897. 

In  the  autumn  of  1895  the  temperature  first 
touched  zero  on  November  10,  and  the  last  zero 
recorded  in  the  spring  was  on  April  39.  Between 
December  19  and  February  6,  it  never  rose  above 


^m^ 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         233 

zero.  The  lowest  actual  reading,  minus  five  de- 
grees, occurred  on  January  37,  and  on  twenty- 
four  days  during  the  winter  the  temperature  was 
below  minus  50.  On  March  12  it  first  rose  above 
the  freezing  point,  but  no  continuous  mild 
weather  occurred  until  May  4,  after  which  date 
the  temperature  during  the  balance  of  the  month 
frequently  rose  above  60  degrees.  The  Yukon 
Eiver  froze  up  on  October  28,  and  broke  up  on 
May  17.     Forty-Mile  River  broke  up  on  May  11. 

In  June  the  temperature  reached  70  degrees 
on  twelve  days,  and  on  only  one  day,  the  30th, 
did  it  reach  80  degrees.  The  last  frost  was  re- 
corded on  the  7th;  the  average  temperature  of 
the  month  was  53  degrees,  which  is  three  de- 
grees lower  than  the  normal  June  temperature 
on  Lake  Athabasca,  and  nearly  the  same  as  the 
May  normal  in  Winnipeg. 

The  average  temperature  for  July  was  57  de- 
grees; the  highest,  82  degrees,  was  reached  on  the 
1st,  and  the  lowest,  35.5  degrees,  on  the  27th. 
Rain  fell  on  eleven  days  and  the  amount  was 
1.71  inches. 

In  August  the  highest  temperature  was  76 
degrees,  and  no  frost  occurred  until  the  31st, 
when  the  thermometer  fell  to  29  degrees.  Rain 
fell  on  11  days. 

The  average  for  September  was  only  43  de- 
grees, which  is  three  degrees  lower  than  the  usual 
October  *veragt  ij  Toronto;  rain  fell  on  12  v  ^ys. 


234 


Klondihe. 


v'-'  ' 


f 


liH 


I 


It  may  be  said  that  the  winter  set  in  on  Sep- 
tember 27,  and  on  September  30  the  tempera- 
ture fell  to  6  degrees  above  zero.  Zero  was  first 
touched  on  October  5,  and  the  average  tempera- 
ture of  that  month  was  37  degrees,  or  about  the 
same  as  the  December  average  in  Toronto. 

November  was  very  cold,  the  average  of  the 
month  being  7  degrees;  the  lowest  reading  regis- 
tered was  minus  39  degrees.  The  Yukon  froze 
up  on  the  5th. 

December  average  was  minus  13;  the  tempera- 
ture fell  to  35  degrees  on  eight  occasions,  and 
minus  40  degrees  was  the  lowest  registered. 

January  was  not  as  cold  as  in  the  previous 
year,  the  average  temperature  being  but  minus 
15  degrees,  as  against  minus  38  degrees  in  the 
previous  year;  forty  degrees  below  zero  or  lower 
was  recorded  on  five  days,  the  lowest  reading 
being  minus  48  degrees. 

February  was  also  mild  compared  with  the 
previous  year,  the  mean  temperature  being  plus 
3  degrees,  and  the  lowest  temperature  registered 
minus  31  degrees. 

The  average  temperature  in  March  was  1  de- 
gree, or  8  degrees  lower  than  the  previous  March, 
and  on  two  consecutive  days,  the  16th  and  17th, 
the  two  lowest  temperature  of  the  winter  were 
registered,  namely  minus  54,  and  minus  53 
degrees. 


A  Manual /or  Gold  Seekers.         235 

In  April  the  days  were  mostly  mild  and  the 
nights  cold.  The  lowest  reading  was  minus  5 
degrees,  which  was  the  last  zero  temperature  of 
the  winter. 

The  month  of  May,  1897,  was  very  similar  to 
the  preceding  May;  the  average  temperature 
was  40  degrees;  00  degrees  was  first  recorded  on 
the  26th,  and  75  degrees  on  the  31st;  the  lowest 
of  the  month  was  11  degrees,  on  the  9th.  Forty- 
Mile  Creek  broke  up  on  the  13th,  and  the  Yukon 
on  the  15th. 

Owing  to  the  unusual  interest  excited  by  the 
discovery  of  gold  in  the  Klondike  region,  Willis 
L.  Moore,  Chief  of  the  Weather  Bureau,  at 
Washington,  D.C.,  has  prepared,  at  the  direction 
of  Secretary  of  Agriculture  Wilson,  a  special 
bulletin  describing  at  length  and  in  a  most  in- 
teresting way  the  weather  conditions  of  Alaska 
at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  With  regard  to  "tem- 
perate Alaska,'*  by  which  is  meant  the  fiinge  of 
islands  between  the  mainland  and  the  sea,  and 
the  strip  of  mainland  running  along  the  coast  to 
the  western  extremity  of  the  Territory,  and  about 
twenty  miles  back  from  the  sea,  the  report  says 
the  temperature  rarely  falls  to  zero.  Winter 
does  not  set  in  until  December  1,  and  snow  dis- 
appears, except  on  the  mountains,  by  May  1. 
The  average  temperature  of  July,  the  warmest 
month  of  summer,  rarely  reaches  55  degrees, 


I      i 


I    i 


II 


236 


Klondike. 


and  the  highest  does  not  exceed  75  degrees. 
The  mean  winter  temperature  of  Sitka  is  32.5 
degrees,  or  a  little  less  than  at  Washington,  D.C. 
The  report  then  continues: 

"The  rainfall  of  temperate  Alaska  is  notorious 
the  world  over,  not  only  as  regards  the  quantity 
that  falls,  but  also  as  to  the  manner  of  its  fall- 
ing, viz.,  in  long  and  incessant  rains  and  drizzles. 
Clouds  and  fog  naturally  abound,  there  being  on 
an  average  but  fifty-six  clear  days  in  the  year. 
Alaska  is  a  land  of  striking  contrasts,  in  climate 
as  well  as  in  topography.  When  the  sun  shines 
the  atmosphere  is  remarkably  clear,  the  scenic 
effects  are  magnificent,  and  nature  seems  to  be 
in  holiday  attire,  but  the  scene  may  change  very 
quickly.  The  sky  becomes  overcast,  the  winds 
increase  in  force,  rain  begins  to  fall,  the  ever- 
greens sigh  ominously,  and  utter  desolation  and 
loneliness  prevail. 

"North  of  the  Aleutian  Islands  the  coast  climate 
becomes  more  rigorous  in  winter,  but  in  summer 
the  difference  is  much  less  marked.  Thus  at  St. 
Michael,  a  short  distance  north  of  the  mouth  of 
the  Yukon,  the  mean  summer  temperature  is  50 
degrees,  but  four  degrees  cooler  than  Sitka. 
The  mean  summer  temperature  of  Point  Barrow, 
the  most  northerly  point  in  the  United  States,  is 
36.6  degrees,  but  four-tenths  of  a  degree  less 
than  the  temperature  of  the  air  flowing?  across 


A  MoMual  for  Gold  Seekers.  237 


the  summit  of  Pike's  Peak,  Colorado.  The 
rainfall  of  the  coast  region  north  of  the  Yukon 
delta  is  small,  diminishing,  to  less  than  ten 
inches  within  the  A'-'^tic  circle. 

"The  climate  of  the  interior,  including  in  that 
designation  practically  all  of  the  country  except 
a  narrow  fringe  of  coastal  margin  and  the  terri- 
tory  before  referred  to  as  temperate  Alaska,  is 
one  of  extreme  rigor  in  winter,  with  a  brief  but 
relatively  hot  summer,  especially  when  the  sky  is 
free  from  clouds.  In  the  Klondike  region  in 
midwinter  the  sun  rises  from  9:30  to  10  a.m., 
and  sets  from  2  to  3  p.m.,  the  total  length  of 
daylight  being  about  four  hours.  Eemembering 
that  the  sun  rises  but  a  few  degrees  above  the 
horizon,  and  that  it  is  wholly  obscured  on  a  great 
many  days,  the  character  of  the  winter  months 
may  easily  be  imagined." 

The  statement  of  Professor  Moore  includes  a 
series  of  six  months'  observations  by  the  United 
States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  on  the  Yukon 
not  far  from  the  region  of  the  present  gold  dis- 
coveries. These  observations,  which,  of  course, 
are  absolutely  reliable,  show  that  the  mean  tem- 
perature from  October,  1889,  to  April  1890,  both 
inclusive,  were  as  follows: 

^'October,  33  degrees  above  zero;  November,  8 
degrees  above;  December,  11  degrees  below  zero; 
January,  17  degrees  below;  February,  15  degrees 


I'!' ! ' 


^i!! 


'  H'l 


f 

:. 

1 

238 


Klondike. 


below;  March,  6  degrees  above  zero;  April,  20 
degrees  above.  The  daily  mean  temperature 
fell  and  remained-  below  tho  freezing  point  (33 
degrees)  from  November  4,  1889,  to  April  21, 
1890,  thns  giving  108  days  as  the  length  of  the 
closed  season,  1889-90,  assuming  that  outdoor 
operations  are  controlled  by  temperature  only. 

"The  lowest  temperatures  registered  during  the 
winter  were:  32  degrees  below  in  November;  47 
degrees  below  in  December;  59  degrees  below  in 
January;  55  degrees  below  in  February;  45  de- 
grees below  in  March;  26  degrees  below  in  April." 

The  report  concludes  as  follows:  *'In  the  in- 
terior of  Alaska  the  winter  sets  in  as  early  as 
September,  when  snowstorms  may  be  expected 
in  the  mountains  and  passes.  Traveling  during 
one  of  these  storms  is  impossible,  and  the  traveler 
who  is  overtaken  by  one  of  them  is  indeed  for- 
tunate if  he  escapes  with  his  life.  Snowstorms 
of  great  severity  may  occur  in  any  month  from 
September  to  May,  inclusive.  The  changes  of 
temperature  from  winter  to  summer  are  rapid, 
owing  to  the  great  increase  in  the  length  of  the 
day.  In  May  the  sun  rises  about  3  a.m.  and 
Bets  about  9  p.m.  In  June  it  rises  about  1:30  in 
the  morning  and  sets  at  10:30,  giving  about 
twenty  hours  of  daylight,  and  diffuse  twilight  the 
remainder  of  the  time.  The  mean  summer  tem- 
perature of  the  interior  doubtless  ranges  between 


<\    'I 


A  Manual  f 07'  Gold  Seelaei's.  2)>'.> 

60  degrees  and  70  degrees,  according  to  eleva- 
tion, being  highest  in  the  middle  and  lower 
Yukon  valleys.'' 

Joseph  Desroches  went  to  the  Yukon  country 
last  July  and  made  the  trip  overland  to  the 
Klondike  in  less  than  three  weeks  from  Juneau. 
He  has  made  money,  though  the  amount  he 
keeps  to  himself.  "When  the  wind  blows  through 
the  Chilkoot  Pass.*'  he  said,  "no  human  being  can 
stand  against  it.  The  velocity  is  such  that  a 
man  cannot  breathe.  That  is  really  the  most 
dangerous  portion  of  the  trip.  I  don't  consider 
the  White  Horse  Kapids  a  dangerous  feature,  for 
a  man  does  not  need  to  go  through  them.  I  spent 
two  winters  in  the  Yukon  district,  and  came 
down  the  river  this  summer.  Navigation  on  all 
the  rivers  in  Alaska  closes  the  15th  of  Septem- 
ber, and  opens  the  1st  of  June.  During  that 
time  the  fall  of  snow  is  beyond  all  conception  of 
the  people  of  this  locality,  and  the  winds  are 
simply  awful.  Everything  is  froztr.  solid,  and 
what  little  level  ground  there  is,  is  one  solid 
mass  of  ice;  the  earth  is  frozen  to  a  depth  of 
fourteen  feet,  and  no  movement  can  be  made  ex- 
cept on  snow  shoes  or  snow  sleds. 

''During  the  summer  time  the  climate  is  de- 
lightful and  the  days  are  very  long.  In  July  a 
person  can  read  at  night  very  plainly.  The 
light  in  winter  is  from  9  until  3,  and  the  cold 


i 


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I 


1 


I 


I  ill 


I'liti 


i 

t 

1 

1 

1 

■ 

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■ 

1 

1 

1 

■ 

240 


Klondike. 


continuously  worse  than  the  bitterest  days  we 
have  here;  in  fact,  the  temperature  here  in  win- 
ter gives  one  the  very  poorest  idea  of  Alaskan 
cold.  It  is  practically  impossible  to  do  any 
prospecting,  although  in  many  cases  men  have 
built  fires  upon  the  frozen  ground,  after  digging 
off  many  feet  of  snow,  and  so  melted  about  five 
inches.  This  would  be  dug  up  and  thrown  on 
the  snow,  and  the  same  process  kopt  up.  When 
the  warm  weather  would  come  this  dirt  would  be 
run  through  the  sluices." 

Angus  Galbraith,  though  he  has  made  his 
stake  there,  says  he  would  advise  no  one  to  go 
up  into  the  country.  He  is  a  man  of  70  years  of 
age,  and  has  been  in  Alaska  three  years,  and  when 
asked  if  the  work  was  hard  said  he  had  been  able 
to  stand  it,  but  that  it  was  no  place  for  an  old 
man. 

"The  winters,"  he  said,  in  the  course  of  the 
interview,  "are  very  cold,  the  mercury  going 
down  as  low  as  75  degrees  below  zero.  The 
coldest  weather  last  winter  was  in  January  and 
February.  Miners  have  to  use  the  greatest  care 
not  to  work  themselves  into  a  perspiration,  as 
the  moisture  would  freeze  and  result  in  frostbite. 

"In  summer  it  gets  quite  warm  and  some 
vegetables  are  raised,  though,  as  the  miners  are 
so  busy  hunting  for  gold,  little  time  is  given  to 
putting  in  gardens.    When  my  party  left  it  was 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         241 


93  degrees  in  the  shade.  Mosquitoes  are  so 
numerous  that  gloves  have  to  bo  worn  while 
working." 

Here  is  an  extract  from  Assistant  Surgeon  A. 
E.  Willis'  of  Northwest  Mounted  Police  report 
for  1895: 

**It  may  be  of  interest  to  mention  something 
concerning  the  climate,  mode  of  living  of  the 
people  generally,  and  diseases  met  with.  The 
climate  is  wet.  The  rainfall  last  summer  was 
heavy.  Although  there  is  almost  a  continuous 
sun  in  summer  time,  evaporation  is  very  slow 
owing  to  the  thick  moss  which  will  not  conduct 
the  heat,  in  consequence  the  ground  is  always 
swampy.  It  is  only  after  several  years  of  drain- 
ing that  the  ground  will  become  suflBciently  dry 
to  allow  the  frost  to  go  out,  and  then  only  a  few 
feet.  During  the  winter  months  the  cold  is  in- 
tense, with  usually  considerable  wind.  A  heavy 
mist  rising  from  open  places  in  the  river  settles 
down  in  the  valley  in  calm  extreme  weather. 
This  dampness  causes  the  cold  to  be  felt  very 
acutely  and  is  conducive  to  rheumatic  pains,  colds 
etc.  Miners  are  a  very  mixed  class  of  people.  They 
represent  many  nationalities  and  come  from  all 
climates.  Their  lives  are  certainly  not  enviable. 
The  regulation  'miner's  cabin'  is  twelve  feet  by 
fourteen  feet  with  walls  six  feet  and  gables  ciglit 
feet  in  height.     The  roof  is  heavily  earthed  and 


1 


If 


242 


Klondike. 


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tho  cabin  is  generally  warm.  Two  and  some- 
times there  or  four  men  will  occupy  a  house  of 
this  size.  The  ventilation  is  usually  bad.  Those 
miners  who  do  not  work  their  claims  during  the 
winter  confine  themselves  in  these  small  huts 
most  of  the  time.  Very  often  they  become  in- 
dolent and  careless,  only  eating  those  things 
which  are  most  easily  cooked  or  prepared.  Dur- 
ing the  busy  time  in  summer  when  they  are 
'shoveling  in/  they  work  harder  and  for  long 
hours,  sparing  little  time  for  eating  and  much 
less  for  cooking." 

The  following  passages  have  been  culled  from 
a  budget  of  interviews: 

"Dawson  City  is  not  a  paradise  by  any  means, 
but  there  are  much  worse  places.  In  winter  the 
cold  is  intense,  but  as  there  is  plenty  of  timber 
around  we  do  not  suffer  to  any  great  extent. 
Our  summer  lasts  about  six  weeks,  but  during 
that  time  it  is  very  warm.  The  day  we  left  it 
was  93  in  the  shade.  The  mosquito  is  our  worst 
enemy." 

"On  the  upper  Yukon  the  climate  is  dry, 
with  little  rain,  but  at  Forty-Mile  there  is  al- 
most as  much  rain  as  in  North  Dakota  and  Mon- 
tana. Up  in  the  mountains  this  rain  turns  to 
snow,  which  Intereferes  with  the  diggings  some- 
times even  in  midsummer.  Singular  to  say,  the 
country  is  infested  with  millions  upon  millions 


■19 


A  Manual  /or  Gold  Seekers.  243 

of  mosquitoes  in  the  summer,  and  a  man's  life  is 
in  danger  if  his  face  and  body  are  not  properly 
protected.  It  is  said  that  not  one-third  of  the 
men  that  go  to  the  region  in  the  summer  remain 
over  winter,  as  the  mosquitoes  run  them  out. 

"In  summer  there  is  almost  two  months  of 
continuous  daylight. 

"These  Klondike  Creek  facts  are  mighty  in- 
teresting and  alluring.  No  doubt  they  will  at- 
tract many  more  men  to  the  diggings  there  next 
spring.  But  men  who  are  planning  to  go  in 
there  want  to  consider  the  hardships  before  they 
start.  It  is  no  country  for  a  tenderfoot  or  a 
quitter.  One  man,  who  started  on  January  3 
from  Forty-Mile  Post  to  go  to  the  Klondike 
Creek  diggings,  arrived  there  on  Feburary 
27.  He  had  to  sled  his  outfit  the  whole  way, 
and  in  several  places  had  to  divide  his  load  and 
double.  The  thermometer  ranged  from  42  to  77 
degrees  below  zero,  and  he  was  kept  ten  days  in 
camp  at  one  place  by  the  cold.  Gold  got  by 
such  work  is  hard  earned. 

"But  there  is  another  side  to  the  picture. 
The  bitter  must  be  mixed  with  the  sweet.  Win- 
ter lasts  nine  months  in  Klondike,  and  its 
average  temperature  is  68  degrees  below  zero, 
but  its  snow  is  light  and  frosty.  Summer  reigns 
during  the  remaining  three  months  and  in  them 
the  weather  is  warm  and  sultry,  and  the  mps- 


tti" 


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11  * 


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, 

Li 

244 


Klondike. 


quitocs  frisk  and  frolic  about  in  millions.  They 
are  in  the  water  one  drinks,  and,  like  the  gad-fly 
in  'Prometheus  Bound,'  give  man  rest  neither  day 
nor  niglit.  Then  again  it  must  ba  remembered 
that,  although  it  is  easy  to  get  to  Klondike  at 
this  time  of  the  year,  it  is  impossible  to  get  away 
from  there  later  on  in  the  season.  After  the 
middle  of  September  both  the  Juneau  and  St. 
Michael  routes  are  closed;  and  all  who  are  in 
Klondike  must  stay  there  until  the  following 
summer. 

"The  early  summer  is  the  time  to  reach  Alaska, 
say  about  the  last  of  May  or  the  beginning  of 
June,  when  the  placer  mining  is  open  and  the 
broken  ice  in  the  rivers  has  rendered  valuable  as- 
sistance in  loosening  the  gravel  that  contains  the 
metal. 

"The  rigors  of  the  climate  in  the  gold  regions 
have  been  exaggerated.  I  have  been  in  Mon- 
tana, and  I  can  say  truthfully  that  the  Klondike 
winter  is  not  more  severe.  The  honesty  of  the 
prospectors  is  surprising.  Locks  and  keys  are 
unknown  in  the  region,  and  the  latchstring  is 
always  on  the  outside.  On  the  whole,  the  pros- 
pector is  as  safe  as  if  he  were  in  Pennsylvania. 

"The  country  is  healthy,  the  climate  warm 
during  the  summer  and  the  days  long  and  quite 
dry;  during  the  winter  the  days  are  short  and 
very  cold. 


\ 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         245 

"The  weather  in  Alaska  is  pleasant  in  the  sum- 
mer/' said  Inspector  Gonstantine  of  the  Northwest 
Mounted  Police,  in  the  course  of  an  interview, 
"but  in  the  winter  one  suffers  from  the  cold  very 
much.  It  rains  every  day  up  there,  and  if  it 
should  happen  to  miss  a  day  it  always  makes  up 
for  the  loss  the  next  day.  I  never  heard  it 
thunder  while  I  was  there.  All  the  miners  who 
do  not  work  in  a  placer  mine  have  to  stop  work 
during  the  winter  on  account  of  both  darkness 
and  the  weather.  Alaska  is  dark  for  quite 
awhile  during  the  winter,  and  of  course  a  person 
cannot  work  in  a  mine  that  is  not  under  the 
ground.  A  mine  under  the  gound  is  dark  all 
the  time  and  therefore  requires  an  artificial  light, 
and  for  that  reason  it  makes  no  difference 
whether  it  is  night  or  day,  wet,  dry,  hot  or  cold. 
It  would  be  bad  policy  for  an  unhealthy  person 
to  go  to  that  country,  as  he  would  have  to  go 
with  wet  feet  all  the  time  and  sleep  in  wet  clothes 
at  night." 

"How  about  the  food?" 

"Oh,  the  food  that  one  has  to  endure  is  not 
of  the  best.  It  consists  mainly  of  slap-jacks,  fat 
meat,  and  beans  all  the  year  round.  Now  and 
then  a  person  gets  in  a  district  where  there  is 
plenty  of  game,  such  as  bear,  fish,  ptarmigan  and 
deer.  Any  one  expecting  to  go  there  for  a  good 
time  will  be  badly  disappointed.  Of  course,  I 
believe  there  is  gold  there  and  plenty  of  it." 


I  < 


;    ;  'I 


246 


Klondike. 


r  H 


il^M'i 


i! 

II   ' 


!  fl 


Mr.  Rouilliard,  a  returned  French-Canadian, 
does  not  think  there  is  any  nceessity  for  suffer- 
ing from  cold  in  Alaska.  He  says  Alaska  is  a 
good,  healthy,  climate,  and  there  will  be  more 
trouble  from  getting  sufficient  supplies  of  food 
than  danger  of  freezing.  He  says  it  is  not 
true  that  the  work  will  have  to  be  suspended 
from  September  to  May  on  account  of  the  cold 
weather.  During  that  time  surface  mining  will 
have  to  be  suspended,  but  underground  work 
can  be  carried  on  as  well  as  at  any  time. 

To  a  reporter.  Inspector  Strickland  spoke  at 
length  of  the  country  that  is  causing  such  a 
sensation.  Regarding  the  best  route  to  reach 
the  country,  he  said  that  he  would  advise  a  poor 
man  to  go  by  Dyea  and  the  Chilkoot  Pass.  He 
would  not  advise  any  one  to  start  later  than 
August  1,  as  no  one  v/ould  have  time  to  pack 
the  amount  of  provisions  that  he  would  need 
over  the  summit.  Before  he  could  do  it  the 
river  would  be  frozen  up.  Last  year  it  froze  by 
the  first  of  October,  but  it  does  not  generally 
freeze  until  the  middle  of  October.  It  io  Lard 
to  get  into  the  country,  and  any  one  who  goes 
there  must  bo  prepared  to  go  through  some 
rough  experiences.  There  is  plenty  of  gold,  but 
it  is  not  lying  around  waiting  for  any  one  to  pick 
it  up.     It  is  gotten  on^;  oy  hard  work. 

Mrs.  Gage,  late  of  Dawson  City,  says: 


% 


""iH 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekere.  247 

"I  am  almost  sure  I  shall  return  to  the  Yukon 
Valley  to  spend  the  winter.  The  last  boat  sails 
from  Seattle,  August  28.  The  only  thing  to 
keep  me  is  that  I  can't  take  my  baby  on  account 
of  the  cold.  As  for  myself,  I  am  not  afraid,  for 
it  is  such  a  dry  cold  that  one  hardly  feels  it. 
Women  are  always  saie  in  the  Yukon.  Although 
beer  and  wine  are  sold  the  men  are  rarely  dis- 
orderly." Mrs.  Gage  is  young  and  not  of  large 
stature.  She  says  her  health  was  never  better 
than  when  in  Alaska. 

**It  is  wrong  for  any  one  to  attempt  a  trip  to 
the  gold  country  in  winter.  The  trip  is  a  bad 
enough  one  in  other  seasons,  but  it  is  practically 
impossible  during  the  winter.  I  only  know  of 
three  or  four  persons  who  have  attempted  the 
Journey  in  winter  and  were  successful. 

"In  summer  it  takes  about  thirty  days  to  reach 
the  Klondike.  From  the  coast  to  the  summit  of 
Chilkoot  Pass  is  very  severe  traveling,  and  even 
after  that  is  passed,  diflBcult  and  dangerous  work 
is  still  in  store  for  the  traveler.  The  best  time 
to  go  is  in  the  spring,  starting  about  March  1; 
but  trEAclersmust  be  careful  to  take  in  sufficient 
provisions  to  last  a  year." 

The  Yukon  last  year  was  frozen  hard  and  fast 
on  ^September  ?3.  The  Alaska  Commercial 
Company  never  contrac  .8  to  carry  any  one  through 
who  loaves  Seattle  aftor  July  30.    The  first  ice 


\ 


^inr* 


i  1 


248 


Klondike. 


!;  If 


i  ifi 


a 


^^   ^  !i!     i 


that  forms  goes  out,  filling  the  river  with  float- 
ing cakes  that  are  dangerous  to  craft  stemming 
the  current.  Later  the  river  freezes  over  solid 
to  its  mouth.  The  condition  of  a  party,  ice- 
bound, hundreds  of  miles  from  home,  and  unable 
to  traverse  the  rough  country  to  reach  its  desti- 
nation, would  not  be  pleasant,  but  the  extreme 
cold  of  the  Nor:'i  is  not  unbearable.  Experi- 
enced men  travel  thousands  of  miles  in  the  dead 
of  winter  by  dog  train  and  on  snowshoes,  and 
keep  their  health.  Zero  weather  on  the  coast  is 
harder  to  endure  than  40  degrees  below  inland, 
provided  the  air  be  calm. 

There  is,  of  course,  a  great  diflEerence  between 
the  climate  on  the  seaboard  and  that  2,000  miles 
up  the  river,  but  as  many  will  winter  on  the 
shores  of  Behring  Sea  this  year,  so  as  to  be  ready 
to  start  up  with  the  opening  of  navigation,  the 
following  taken  from  the  official  records  of  the 
United  States  Government  Weather  Reports  are 
of  interest.  The  extracts  are  from  the  report 
of  the  government  weather  observer  who  was 
stationed  at  St.  Michael's  Island  for  vears. 
This  island  is  on  the  coast  of  Alaska,  just  north 
of  the  mouth  of  the  Yukon  River,  and  the 
weather  there  is  warmer  than  it  is  in  the  inte- 
rior, where  the  gold  fields  are,  because  it  is 
heated  by  the  sea  currents. 

The  report  states  that  the  average  tempera- 


5 


■W^ 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.  249 

ture  for  four  consecutive  years  was  six  degrees 
below  zero.  There  are  two  well-marked  seasons — 
the  winter  of  seven  months,  from  October  to 
May,  and  the  short  summer.  In  winter  occurs 
by  far  the  best  weather,  because  of  the  long 
periods  of  beautiful  clear  days,  which  are  wel- 
comed in  spite  of  the  intense  cold.  The  sum- 
mer is  disagreeable  on  account  of  the  large  num- 
ber of  cold,  misty  rains  and  low-hanging  cloud 
banks  that  shut  down  over  the  earth  like  a 
leaden  cap. 

In  winter  darkness  comes  between  three  and 
four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Northerly  winds 
prevail.  There  are  many  fierce  gales  in  winter, 
filling  the  air  with  blinding  clouds  of  snow,  and  at 
a  temperature  that  is  frequently  34  degrees  below 
zero.  The  lowest  average  temperature  in  winter  is 
20  to  24  degrees  below  zero.  The  highest  average 
temperature  for  summer  is  35  to  54  degrees  above 
zero.  Before  the  fierce  gales  of  winter  even  the 
hardy  fur  traders  shrink  in  dread,  and  frostbites 
are  the  common  results  of  facing  the  icy  blasts. 
Numbers  of  natives  perish  in  these  storms.  On 
July  28,  1878,  a  foot  of  snow  fell  on  all  the  hills 
and  mountains  along  the  Alaskan  coast,  down  to 
within  250  feet  of  the  sea  beach.  There  was  an- 
other snowfall  June  17  and  18,  1880. 

This  government  report  tells  of  the  discourag- 
ing attempts  of  the  weather  observers  to  raise 


'JaO 


Klondike. 


IM'  '' 


! 


"  ■ 


!!! 


ii 


■M\ 


garden  vegetables.  They  were  stunted  by  the 
cold,  and  only  the  most  hardy  kinds  would  grow 
at  all. 

William  B.  Moore,  now  a  resident  of  Spokane, 
Washington,  says: 

*'I  would  not  advise  any  one  to  attempt  the 
trip  later  than  the  15th  of  August.  It  is  a  hard 
country  to  prospect.  The  Indians  make  no 
trails.  During  the  winter  they  trap  for  fur,  and 
in  the  summer  they  live  on  the  river,  and  fish 
and  kill  fowl.  There  are  large  areas  of  tundra 
lands  which  are  very  tiresome  to  traverse.  Gold, 
however,  is  found  right  in  these  tundra  marshes. 

"The  chief  hardship  is  the  long,  tedious,  dark 
winter.  In  midwinter  the  sun  does  not  rise 
above  the  horizon,  and  you  have  only  an  hour 
and  a  half  to  two  hours  of  twilight.  In  summer 
the  mosquitoes,  gnats  and  flies  come  in  clouds. 
The  sunshine  is  almost  perpetual,  and  the  sum- 
mer growth  is  tropical.  In  the  canyons  the  tem- 
perature frequently  rises  to  more  than  100  in  the 
shade,  and  remains  there  for  days.  The  growth 
of  all  kinds  of  vegetation  at  this  season  is  pro- 
digious. The  thimbleberry  stalk  is  much  larger 
than  in  this  country,  and  the  leaves  are  the  size 
of  a  palm-leaf  fan.  The  vine  cranberry  is  very 
abundant,  and  the  fruit  is  similar  to  the  culti- 
vated cranberry.  The  forests  are  very  similar  to 
the  woods  of  the  Northern  States,  and  firewood 
is  generally  to  be  had  in  abundance." 


s 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         251 


THE  OUTFIT. 


Opinions  as  to  the  correct  thing  in  outfits 
vary,  and  several  such  are  given,  that  the  pros- 
pective Yukoner  may  choose  for  himself.  A 
Juneau  correspondent  writes:  Everybody  who 
plans  to  go  to  the  Yukon  next  spring  should 
either  bring  a  complete  outfit  with  him  or  the 
cash  to  buy  it  here.  He  has  got  to  take  supplies 
for  the  trip  with  him  over  the  pass,  whichever 
trail  he  takes,  and  he  might  as  well  pack  the 
year's  outfit  along.  He  Avill  save  money  by 
doing  it. 

This  is  a  pretty  comfortable  and  complete  out- 
fit and  might  be  cut  down  a  little  in  some  of  the 
lighter  supplies,  but  not  much.  A  prospector 
will  find  use  for  all  of  it  if  he  has  it,  TJie  cost 
of  drygoods  and  clothing  is  from  75  to  125  per 
cent,  more  at  Forty-Mile  than  here  in  Juneau, 
where  it  is  not  much  more  than  down  below. 

A  prospector's  supply  for  one  year  in  the 
Yukon  country  should  consist  of  about  the 
things  named  in  this  table,  which  gives  Juneau 
prices  compared  with  the  prices  at  Forty-Mile: 


\. 


II, «:    i 


252 


Klondike, 


911;!  ;l 


li! 


M     n  I 


iiil 


Articles. 


Flour 

Sugar,  D.  G 

Bacon,  side 

Bacon,  breakfast 

Beans 

Dried  apples 

Dried  peaches 

Dried  apricots 

Dried  prunes 

Raisins 

8plit  peas .... 

CoflEee,  ground 

Coffee,  green 

Tea,  common 

Baking  powder 

Condensed  milk,  \  case. . 

Corned  beef,  1  case 

Cornmeal  

Rolled  oats 

Oatmeal 

Rice 

Evaporated  potatoes 

Evaporated  onions 

Black  pepper,  ground. . . . 

Salt 

Mustard,  ground 

Allspice,  ground 

Cinnamon,  ground 

Sage 

Butter,  roll 

Camp  stove 

Gum  boots,  C.  P     

Gum  boots,  canvas 

Sleigh 


?i  %' 


Totals. 


iliiiv 


450 

75 

75 

25 

75 

25 

25 

25 

25 

20 

25 

10 

5 

10 

12 

80 

28 

10 

10 

10 

35 

10 

5 

2 

15 

1 

i 

i 

i 

15 

85 

8 

6 

20 

1,132 


If 


2 

5i 
10 
13 

3i 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 

8 
25 
30 
35 
50 


8i 

5 

5 

7i 
25 
50 
50 

H 
40 
25 
50 
35 
40 


t 

1^ 


.08 
.20 
.85 
.50 
.10 
.20 
.30 
.30 
.30 
.25 
.15 
.40 
.50 
.75 
1.00 


.15 
.15 
.15 
.15 
.40 

1.00 

1.00 
.10 

1.00 
.50 
.75 
.50 

1.00 


I 


$9.00 
4.12 
7.50 
3.20 
2.62 
2.50 


50 

50 

50 

00 

00 

50 

50 

50 

6.00 

8.37 

2.75 

.35 

.50 

.50 

2.65 

2.50 

2.50 

1.00 

.37 

.40 

.25 

.50 

.35 

6.00 

5.50 

6.50 

6.50 

8.00 


1107.70 


$36.00 
15.00 
26.25 
12.50 

7 
5 

7 
7 
7 


50 

00 

50 

50 

50 

5.00 

3.75 

4.00 

2.50 

7.50 

12.00 

10.00 

6.00 

1.50 

1.50 

1.50 

5.25 

4.00 

5.00 

2.00 

1.50 

1.00 

.50 

.75 

.50 

15.00 

15.00 

12.00 

10.00 

16.00 

$280.50 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         253 

Miners  who  go  in  with  outfits  from  here  usually 
employ  Indians  to  pack  their  supplies  over  the 
pass.  This  costs  from  $13  to  $14  a  hundred  over 
the  Dyea  route,  and  the  distance  is  about  twenty- 
seven  miles.  After  that  the  miners  must  drag 
their  own  stuff.  The  best  time  to  go  in  is  before 
the  snow  melts,  which  it  does  about  the  middle 
of  April  usually.  After  the  summit  is  passed, 
if  the  trip  is  made  before  the  snow  goes  off,  it 
often  happens  that  great  distances  can  be  made 
by  rigging  sails  on  the  sleds.  It  takes  a  little 
more  than  thirty  days  to  get  from  Juneau  to 
Forty-Mile,  but  a  man  wants  to  know  how  to 
handle  a  boat  before  he  tries  to  go  down  the 
rivers  alone  after  the  ice  goes  out.  The  current 
is  swift  and  there  are  lots  of  rocks  and  dangerous 
passages. 

The  following  are  necessary  articles  of  a 
woman's  outfit:  One  medicine  case  filled  on  the 
advice  of  a  good  physician;  two  pairs  of  extra 
heavy  all-wool  blankets;  one  small  pillow;  one 
fur  robe;  one  warm  shawl;  one  fur  coat,  easy 
fitting;  three  warm  woolen  dresses,  with  com- 
fortable bodices  and  skirts  knee  length — flannel- 
lined  preferable;  three  pairs  of  knickers  or 
bloomers  to  match  the  dresses;  three  suits  of 
heavy  all-wool  underwear;  three  warm  flannel 
night-dresses;  four  pairs  of  knitted  woolen  stock- 
ings; one  pair  of  rubber  boots;  three  gingham 


!   l^ 


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254 


Klondike. 


'•';;'    .ll.'ii. 


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aprons  that  reach  from  neck  to  knees;  small  roll 
of  flannel  for  insoles,  wrapping  the  feet  and 
bandages;  a  sewing  kit;  such  toilet  articles  as 
are  absolutely  necessary,  including  some  skin 
unguent  to  protecc  the  face  from  the  icy  cold; 
two  light  blouses  or  shirt  waists  for  summer 
wear;  one  oilskin  blanket  to  wrap  her  eflEects  in; 
one  fur  cap;  two  pairs  of  fur  gloves;  two  pairs  of 
fur  seal  moccasins;  two  pairs  of  mukluks — wet 
weather  moccasins. 

She  wears  what  she  pleases  en  route  to  Juneau 
or  St.  Michael,  and  when  she  makes  her  start 
for  the  diggings  she  lays  aside  her  civilized 
traveling  garb,  including  shoes  and  stays,  until 
she  comes  out.  Instead  of  carrying  the  fur 
robe,  fur  coat  and  rubber  boots  along,  she  can 
get  them  on  entering  Alaska,  but  the  experi- 
enced ones  say  take  them  along.  The  natives 
make  a  fur  coat  with  hood  attached  called  a 
"parki,"  but  it  is  clumsy  for  a  white  woman  to 
wear  who  has  been  accustomed  to  fitted  gar- 
ments. Leggings  and  shoes  are  not  so  safe  nor 
desirable  as  the  moccasins.  A  trunk  is  not  the 
thing  to  transport  baggage  in.  It  is  much  bet- 
ter in  a  pack,  with  the  oilskin  cover  well  tied  on. 

The  things  to  add  that  are  useful  but  not  ab- 
solutely necessary  are  choice  tea,  coffee,  cocoa, 
and  the  smaller,  lighter  luxuries  of  civilization 
that  purse  permits  and  appetite  craves.     It  costs 


A  Mcmual  for  Gold  Seekers.         255 

just  as  much  for  portage  on  reading  matter  as 
for  the  necessities  of  life,  and  consequently  after 
making  out  a  list  of  what  you'd  like  to  have,  it 
is  wise  to  cut  it  down  to  what  you  can't  possibly 
struggle  along  without. 

It's  astonishing  how  little  people  can  com- 
fortably get  along  with  when  they  try. 

Prom  almost  every  town  within  a  radius  of 
200  miles,  horses  and  large  dogs  are  being  hur- 
ried to  Tacoma  and  Seattle  for  shipment  to 
Alaska.  Cayuses  that  could  not  be  sold  for  $G 
and  $8  each  are  now  worth  $20  to  $30.  Good 
draft  horses  are  too  valuable  to  ship,  and  would 
not  be  as  good  for  packing  outfits  up  the  Chilkoot 
and  White  Passes  from  Dyea  and  Skagaway  as  tiio 
nimble  and  wiry  ponies.  Packers  now  get  25 
cents  a  pound  for  carrying  outfits  from  Dyca 
fourteen  miles  to  Sheep  Camp.  The  last  two 
miles  to  the  summit  is  so  steep  that  horses  can 
only  get  over  light  and  the  goods  are  carried  the 
balance  of  the  way  by  Indians,  who  are  now 
charging  fabulous  prices  from  Sheep  Camp  to 
Lake  Lindermann. 

The  freight  on  horses  to  Dyea  is  $22.50  each, 
and  their  owners  must  also  pay  $11  a  ton  on 
enough  feed  to  last  while  they  remain.  On  the 
approach  of  cold  weather  many  horses  will  be 
taken  over  to  Lake  Bennett,  killed  and  frozen 
and  sold  for  dog  meat.     In  March  another  big 


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Klondike. 


army  of  horses  will  go  north  to  pack  for  the 
10,000  prospectors  who  are  expected  to  march 
over  the  passes  in  March,  April  and  May. 

The  current  price  of  good  dogs  runs  from  $25 
to  $125.  Old  Yukoners  will  not  take  Puget 
Sound  dogs,  claiming  that  they  are  so  thin-haired 
that  the  arctic  winter  will  kill  them.  Some 
hardy  dogs  from  Montana  and  Dakota  are  being 
taken  in,  but  even  they  take  a  back  seat  to  the 
Yukon  canines,  which  are  said  to  be  a  cross  be- 
tween the  Esquimo  dog  and  the  timber  wolf. 
It  costs  $5  to  take  a  dog  to  Dyea. 

The  greatest  demand  for  any  particular  thing 
is  for  boats.  People,  to  save  time  in  getting 
down  the  river,  should  take  their  boats  with 
them.  A  half-dozen  carpenters  and  planing  mill 
establishments  have  caught  the  idea,  and  are 
working  on  the  Pacific  Coast  night  and  <lay 
turning  out  knockdown  boats.  One  that  will 
carry  a  ton  costs  $18,  and  weighs  about  200 
pounds.  It  is  taken  apart  with  no  pieces  more 
than  six  or  seven  feet  long,  and  packed  for  ship- 
ping. The  demand  is  so  good  for  these  boats 
that  the  builders  are  several  days  behind  with 
their  orders.  The  principal  objection  to  them 
is  that  the  Indians  and  packers  dislike  to  con- 
tract to  carry  them  over  the  mountains  on  ac- 
count of  their  awkward  shape.  One  builder  has 
now  worked  out  a  model  for  a  galvanized  iron 


A  Manual  for  Gold  ISeehers.        257 


boat  that  can  bo  carried  in  sections  fitting  to- 
gether like  a  "nest"  of  custard  dishes,  and  can 
bo  put  together  with  small  bolts.  As  a  sugges- 
tion to  those  going  from  the  East,  a  canvas  fold- 
ing boat  that  will  carry  two  tons  and  is  con- 
structed on  good  lines  would  bo  very  available 
for  the  7nkon.  A  keel,  mast,  and  some  addi- 
tional bracing  could  be  added  after  reaching  the 
interior. 

According  to  one  returned  miner  the  following 
would  make  a  good  outfit:  Bacon,  300  pounds; 
flour,  800  pounds;  assorted  dried  fruits,  150 
pounds;  cornmeal,  200  pounds;  rice,  50  pounds; 
coffee,  parched,  75  pounds;  tea,  40  pounds; 
sugar,  75  pounds;  beans,  150  pounds;  condensed 
milk,  1  case;  assortment  of  evaporated  vegetables 
and  meats;  3  suits  of  corduroy;  3  pairs  rubber 
boots;  3  pairs  heavy  shoes;  3  dozen  heavy  woolen 
socks;  1-3  dozen  woolen  mitts;  3  pairs  woolen 
gloves;  3  suits  of  heavy  underwear;  3  hats;  3  suits 
of  mackinaw;  4  heavy  woolen  shirts;  1  heavy 
coat;  3  pairs  of  heavy  woolen  blankets. 

This  outfit  will  cost  about  $175.  Transportation 
via  steamer,  to  Klondike  costs  $150,  or  via  Juneau 
and  Dyea  $40.  If  by  the  latter  route,  the  car- 
riage from  salt  water  to  Lake  Lindermann  must 
be  added;  also,  boat  at  Lake  Lindermann,  $50; 
miscellaneous  %2q.  Conservatively,  this  is  a  fair 
estimate  of  the  requirements  of  a  man  who  ex- 


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Klondike. 


pects  to  remain  in  the  Yukon  for  18  months. 
There  ure  several  incidental  expenses  which 
might  be  incurred,  or  the  amount  of  supplies 
might  be  curtailed  to  a  slight  extent. 

One  of  the  most  modest  calculations  of  an  old 
hand  who  would  ''travel  light,"  reads  thus: 

"I  would  pack  but  very  little  if  I  had  no 
money  to  pay  my  way.  Here  is  what  I  would 
take,  and  it  will  be  found  amply  sufiBcient: 
Twenty  pounds  of  British  ship's  biscuit,  which 
may  be  secured  at  any  first  class  grocery;  6 
pounds  of  sugar  in  good  strong  cotton  bags  of 
three  ponnds  each,  for  they  can  be  better  packed 
in  a  bundle;  2  pounds  of  cofEee  and  2  pounds 
of  tea;  a  dozen  tin  boxes  of  wax  matches;  a 
bar  of  soap;  a  tin  pail  to  boil  tea  or  coffee  in, 
and  to  use  the  lid  for  drinking  out  of;  one  tin  of 
salt  and  pepper;  1  ax;  2  pairs  of  heavy  bine 
woolen  blankets;  two  pairs  of  heavy  miners' 
boots;  2  suits  of  heavy  underwear;  a  suit  of 
strong  oilskin,  such  as  sailors  wear;  strong  heavy 
socks  and  gloves;  a  pair  of  smoked  glasses;  a 
good  heavy  revolver;  2  towels;  a  tent  10  by  8  ft.; 
1  pick  and  shovel,  and  if  possible,  a  heavy 
india-rubber  sleeping  bag.  There's  the  whole 
of  my  kit. 

"The  rope  you  would  use  in  binding  the  out- 
fit would  serve  also  for  carrying  it  over  your 
shoulders,  and  on  arrival  at  destination  be  used 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         259 

in  erecting  your  tent.  The  idea  of  carrying,  or 
rather  packing  flour,  bacon,  cornmeal,  rice,  oat- 
meal, and  other  such  luxuries,  as  well  as  numer- 
ous culinary  utensils,  building  tools  and  super- 
fluous clothing,  is  all  nonsense. 

"The  journey  to  tlie  frozen  North  is  not  nearly 
so  hard  as  some  people  imagine,  but  for  all  that 
I  would  not  advise  an  unpractical  man  to  go 
there  until  next  spring.  A  seasoned  miner  can  go 
there  at  any  time,  but  the  green  hand  will  find 
it  a  holy  terror  before  he  has  tramped  the  first 
fifty  miles." 

There  is  a  strong  probability  that  there  will 
be  a  short  allowance  of  provisions  in  the  Yukon 
the  coming  winter,  even  if  there  is  no  actual 
suffering  from  the  want  of  food,  and  every  one 
going  in  will  do  well  to  take  sufficient  supplies 
to  last  until  next  summer,  says  the  Juneau, 
Alaska,  Searchlight.  Fully  2,500  people  have 
gone  in  this  year  over  the  Chilkoot  Pass,  and  200 
or  300  will  go  up  the  river  on  steamers.  To  say 
there  are  5,000  people  now  in  the  Yukon  Valley  is 
a  conservative  estimate,  and  if  all  these  decide  to 
winter  there  it  is  doubtful  if  the  trading  com- 
panies can  get  in  provisions  enough  to  last 
through  the  winter.  If  it  is  clearly  seen  that 
there  will  be  a  shortage  the  mraers  will  have  to 
take  matters  in  hand  and  make  all  those  not 
having  a  winter  outfit  go  down  the  river.     There 


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260 


Klondike. 


is  no  higher  law  than  necessity,  and  it  is  better 
that  some  should  leave  the  country,  however  un- 
willingly they  may  go,  than  that  all  should  suffer 
from  hunger.     The  companies  will  do  their  best 
to  supply  the  increased  demand  made  upon  them, 
and  if  the  river  should  not  freeze  up  until  late 
they  may  be  able  to  get  up  an  abundance  of  sup- 
plies for  every  one,  but  those  going  in  have  to 
take  chances  unless  they  take  a  good  outfit  with 
them.     Some  have  the  gold  fever  so  badly  that 
they  are  willing  to  run  any  risks;  to  take  the 
most  desperate  chances.     They  start  with  barely 
enough  supplies  to  reach  Klondike,  and  no  money 
to  buy  more,  even  if  there  is  plenty  to  be  had  on 
their  arrival.     They  expect  to  go  to  work  at  once 
for  wages,   but  possibly    before  they  can  earn 
enough  to  buy  a  winter's  outfit  everything  will 
be  sold  to  those  who  have  cash.     Some  whose 
means  are  very  limited  are  trying  to  make  every 
dollar  buy  as  much  of  life-sustaining  food  as  pos- 
sible, and  the  ingenuity  in  this  direction  is  some- 
thing fearful  to  those  who  like  to  indulge  their 
stomachs  a  little.     Here  is  a  list  of  supplies 
which  one  John  Doyle,  better  known  as  "Biddy," 
has  figured  out  will  last  him  eight  months: 

"Four  hundred  pounds  of  pilot  bread,  18;  50 
pounds  of  salt  pork,  $4;  2  gallons  of  molasses, 
$1;  2  gallons  of  vinegar,  50  cents;  100  pounds  of 
split  peas,  $5;  20  pounds  of  salt,  20  cents;  1  pair 


t 


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}' 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         201 

of  gum  boots,  $6.50;  1  pair  of  shoes,  14.50; 
total  129.70.  His  old  clothes  are  good  enough, 
he  thinks,  and  he  has  blankets.  Tent  and  stove 
he  says  he  can  get  along  without;  he  can  broil 
his  pork  over  a  camp  fire,  and  one  small  kettle  to 
cook  his  peas  will  be  all  the  cooking  utensils  he 
will  need."  To  prevent  scurvy  boiled  moss  will 
be  sufficient,  besides  proving  nourishing.  That 
this  kind  of  diet  would  sustain  life  is  certain, 
but  how  many  would  be  willing  to  put  up  with 
it?    We  would  advise  none  to  try  it. 

Life  in  the  Yukon,  even  when  viewed  at  its 
best,  presents  hardships  enough,  the  winter's 
fearful  cold,  the  summer's  pest  of  mosquitoes, 
the  long,  weary  tramps,  the  hard  work — these 
are  enough,  even  with  the  best  provisions,  warm 
blankets,  comfortable  houses,  good  fires  and 
something  to  give  light  during  the  long  winter 
nights.  It  is  impossible  to  emphasize  too 
strongly  the  necessity  of  every  one's  taking  an 
abundance  of  the  best  food  to  last  him  until  an- 
other s»mmer,  and  a  good  camp  outfit.  If  you 
can't  get  these  things  it  is  safer  to  wait  until 
you  can  save  up  enough  to  buy  them. 

The  following  itemized  bill  sold  rejcntly  by  a 
Chicago  house  furnishes  the  best  idea  of  the 
make-up  of  a  comparatively  cheap  outfit,  although 
every  article  composing  it  is  of  first-class  quality: 

"Three  suits  of  heavy  woolen  underwear  at 


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Klondike. 


$4.50,  $13.50;  4  pairs  heavy  stocking ■<  at  40  cents, 
$1.60;  2  pairs  German  stockings,  at  $1.15, 
$3.30;  1  pair  hunting  stockings,  $1.35;  1  heavy 
sweater,  $4.50;  1  lighter  sweater,  $3.35;  1  leather, 
fur-lined  coat,  short,  $7;  1  pair  jeans  trousers, 
lined  with  flannel,  $3;  1  mackinaw  coat,  $3;  1 
pair  mackinaw  trousers,  $3.50;  1  suit  buckskin 
underwear,  $13;  1  pair  hip  rubber  boats,  $5.35; 
1  pair  heavy  miner's  bo)ts,  $5;  1  pair  heavy  over- 
shoes, $3.10;  4blankecs  at  $3.40,  $9.60;  1  pair 
leather-lined  mitts,  $1.30,  1  pair  woolen  mitts, 
$1;  1  sleeping  bag,  $13.50;  1  sleeping  cap,  75 
cents;  4  canvas  carrying  bags,  $3;  tools,  includ- 
ing two  miner's  pans,  picks,  shovels,  axes,  saw, 
file,  knife,  $7.33;  total,  $99.73." 

This  is  one  of  the  cheapest  of  the  outfits,  and 
does  not  include  firearms  and  numerous  other 
things  found  in  most  of  the  bills.  One  of  the 
common  purchases  is  a  horsehide  suit,  costing 
$17.  Many  also  buy  a  long  coonskin  coat,  cost- 
ing $33.  Another  important  item  not  included 
is  that  of  provisions,  some  men  taking  $40  to 
$50  worth,  composed  for  the  greater  part  of  two- 
ounce  bottles  of  beef  extract,  canned  soups,  etc., 
and  tea  and  coffee.  With  this  usually  goes  a 
small  cooking  outfit,  costing  $5.50.  The  princi- 
pal purpose  in  taking  these  things  is  for  emer- 
gencies when  other  provisions  are  not  available. 

The  supplies  taken  in  by  one  experienced 
miner  were  as  follows: 


/ 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         263 

"Seventy-five  pounds  granulated  sugar,  $4.13; 
1  dozen  packages  beef  extract,  $4.75;  10  pounds 
evaporated   onions,  $5;  50    pounds    evaporated 
potatoes,  $9.50;  50  pounds  evaporated  peaches, 
$1.75;  10  pounds  evaporated  currants,  70  cents; 
25  pounds  salt,  25  cents;  25  pounds  rolled  oats, 
63  cents;  50  pounds  cornmeal,  $1;  200  pounds 
breakfast  bacon,  $22;  50  pounds  rice,  $2.50;  1 
pound  cayenne  pepper,  35  cents;  1  pound  black 
pepper,  25  cents;  1  case  condensed  milk,  $7;  10 
sacks  flour,  $10;  1  bottle  vinegar,  50  cents;  15 
pounds  dried  beef,  $2.70;  1  case  baking  powder, 
$5;  1  pound  mustard,  25  cents;  1  box  candles, 
$1.50;  1  can  matches,  75  cents;  20  bars  soap,  75 
cents;  crackers,  $5.50;  castile  soap,  25  cents;  1 
dozen  small  cheeses,  $1;  25    pounds  spaghetti, 
$2.75;  15  pounds  coffee,  $3.75;   3  pounds  tea, 
$1.20;  100  pounds  beans,  $2;  25  pounds  pitted 
plums,  $1.75;  total  cost  of  provisions  at  Seattle, 
$102.83." 

This  man  believed  that  these  supplies  will  last 
him  for  twelve  months. 

Some  gleanings  that,  though  liko  the  words  of 
a  dictionary,  rather  disjointed,  nevertheless  con- 
tain valuable  hints,  are  appended: 

'*The  Siwash  dogs,  which  we  used  in  drawing 
loads  of  provisions,  resemble  very  much  a  Scotch 
collie,  and  are  very  lean,  lank  and  wolfish-look- 
ing. They  are,  neverthless,  very  strong,  and 
gifted  with  wonderful  endurance. 


264 


Klondike. 


n 


'A  Seattle  firm  is  preparing  for  the  shipment 
of  a  large  amount  of  flour  into  the  country.  The 
flour  has  to  be  prepared  to  make  the  long  and 
hard  trip.  The  flour  goes  in  quarter  barrels  of 
fifty-pound  sacks,  two  of  which  are  sewed 
together  in  burlaps  for  protection.  Most  of  the 
flour  will  go  into  the  mining  country  by  way  of 
Juneau  and  the  Ohilkoot  Pass,  but  this  particular 
shipment  will  go  by  the  steamer  Excelsior  to  St. 
Michael. 

"Both  of  us  were  afraid  of  the  ice,  though  I 
had  been  raised  among  it  in  Siberia.  We  did 
not  suffer  from  the  cold  a  great  deal,  however. 
Furs  may  be  good  when  you  are  traveling,  but 
when  you  are  prospecting  the  great  soft  blanket 
is  the  thing  you  want.  Everything  necessary  for 
equipment  can  be  got  at  Juneau  or  Dawson  City. 
I  am  fully  convinced  that  $500  will  fit  a  man  out 
in  all  he  wants.  He  can  spend  $250  in  Juneau 
and  take  the  balance  for  ammunition  and  provi- 
sions. 

"We  arrived  in  this  beautiful  city  (Dawson) 
consisting  of  tents  and  shacks,  the  first  day  of 
June  about  three  o'clock.  We  found  everybody 
out  of  grub,  sold  some  bacon  for  $1  a  pound, 
butter  $2  per  pound;  could  have  sold  all  the  pro- 
visions we  had  at  the  same  rates,  but  only  let  a 
little  go.  However,  the  boat  came  in  to-day  with 
a  large  amount  of  supplies,  so  food  will  be  some- 
what cheaper.  • 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         265 

"The  gaunt  and  hungry  miners  come  to  visit 
you.  They  offer  you  a  dollar  for  a  needle  and 
thread.  They  offer  you  $35  for  a  pair  of  rubber 
boots.  They  are  rich — these  grizzled  and  whis- 
kered fellows — but  they  are  ragged  and  hungry. 

"You  are  not  yet  through  buying.  You  must 
have  fur  gloves.  They  will  cost  you  %3.  You 
must  have  mukluks  or  mud  moccasins,  for 
which  you  pay  $4.  These  are  made  of  fur  seal, 
with  the  fur  inside.  They  come  to  the  knee  or 
all  the  way  up  to  the  thigh,  as  you  may  choose. 
Get  snow  shoes  of  the  Ingalik  pattern  for  110  a 
pair,  and  at  last  you  are  ready.  If  you  are  not 
an  experienced  dog  driver  woe  be  unto  you.  All 
you  can  do  is  to  trust  in  Providence  and  follow 
the  leader.     This  you  prepare  to  do. 

"A  Middletown,  New  York,  firm  that  has  been 
engaged  in  manufacturing  gold  dust  bags  of 
sheepskin  for  Californian  customers,  is  working 
with  a  double  force  on  account  of  telegraphic 
orders  received  since  the  Klondike  discovery. 

"Fancy  prices  were  paid  for  dogs  by  those  who 
were  able  to  purchase,  and  as  high  as  $175  and 
even  $200  were  paid  for  good  dogs.  Almost  any 
kind  of  a  dog  was  worth  $50  and  $75  each. 

"If  he  should  go  on  without  a  miner's  kit  and 
proper  supplies  the  scarcity  of  food  and  the  ex- 
orbitant prices  would  take  the  rest,  and  he  would 
find  himself  working  for  $15  a  day  in  Klondike 
and  paying  $4  for  board. 


1 

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266 


Klondike. 


"A  bag  company  is  also  at  work  on  an  order 
for  1,600  canvas  bags,  to  be  had  especially  for  the 
carrying  of  clothing  and  provisions.  They  are 
also  securing  a  large  number  of  tents.  The 
woolen  mills  at  Salem,  Oregon  City  and  Albany, 
Oregon,  have  all  increased  their  forces  to  meet 
the  demand  for  heavy  woolen  goods. 

"The  raw  turnips  and  even  potatoes  were 
eagerly  sought,  and  as  a  crate  of  onions  came 
from  the  Portland  there  was  almost  a  riot,  so 
strong  was  the  desire  for  them.  Several  of  the 
lucky  miners  went  aboard  the  Portland  and 
there  gave  the  steward  830  for  a  dinner  of  seven 
plates.  I  ate  at  the  same  table,  though  not  as 
their  guest,  as  my  dinner  was  paid  for.  The 
men  ate  like  famished  wolves,  and  as  the  various 
courses  were  brought  on,  laughed  like  pleased 
children.  Most  of  the  sixty  passengers  aboard 
the  Weare,  which  started  from  winter  quarters 
after  the  ice  melted  in  the  Yukon,  had  been  liv- 
ing on  beans,  bacon  and  bread,  or  hard  tack,  for 
from  six  months  to  a  year;  some  longer.  The 
little  agency  store  at  St.  Michael  was  besieged 
for  bottled  cider,  canned  pineapples,  apricots, 
cherries,  or  anything  tart,  and  at  a  dollar  a  bot- 
tle cider  went  like  gumdrops  at  a  Sunday-school 
picnic." 

The  matter  of  clothing  must  be  left  to  individ- 
ual taste,  needs  and   means.     But  the   miners 


\ 


Yukon  Miners  in  Winter  Garb. — Page  267. 


«    -  ,  r- 


4  1 


i'     £ 


A  Manual  far  Gold  Seekers.         267 


% 


generally  adopt  the  native  costume.  The  boots, 
usually  made  by  the  coast  Indians,  are  of  several 
varieties.  The  water-boot  is  of  seal  and  walrus 
skin,  while  the  dry  weather  or  winter  boot  is  of 
all  varieties  of  stylo  and  material.  T^  >  )ro  ex- 
pensive have  fur-trimmed  legs,  elabui.i  ^ly  de- 
signed. They  cost  from  %%  to  15  a  pair.  Trous- 
ers are  often  made  of  Siberian  fawn  skin,  and 
the  skin  of  the  marmot  or  ground  squirrel.  Tlie 
parka,  or  upper  garment,  is  usually  of  marmot 
skins,  trimmed  with  wolverine  around  the  hood 
and  lower  edge,  the  long  hair  from  the  sides  of 
the  wolverine  being  used  for  the  hood.  This 
hair  is  sometimes  five  or  six  inches  in  length  and 
is  useful  in  protecting  the  face  of  the  wearer. 
Good,  warm  flannels  can  be  worn  under  tlie 
parka,  and  the  whole  outfit  will  weigh  less  tlian 
the  ordinary  clothes  worn  in  a  country  wlierc  the 
weather  gets  down  to  zero.  The  parka  is  almost 
cold  proof.  But  it  is  expensive,  ranging  in  price 
from  $25  to  $100.  Blankets  and  fur  robes  are 
used  for  bedding.  Lynx  skins  make  the  best 
robes.  Good  ones  cost  $100.  But  clioaper  robes 
can  be  made  of  the  skins  of  bear,  mink,  red  fox, 
and  the  arctic  hare.  The  skins  of  the  latter 
animal  mak  warm  socks  to  be  worn  with  the 
skin  boots. 

Prices  in  Dawson  City  are  fairly  representative 
of  the  amounts  charged  for  provisions  and  articles 


:i     f 


i 


268 


Klondike. 


of  wear,  on  the  Yukon,  and  the  following  list 
will  give  interesting  information  on  this  subject. 
These  were  the  ruling  prices  when  the  miners 
left  Dawson  City  to  return  with  their  immense 
wealth,  and  entrance  their  neighbors  with  the 
recital  of  the  story  of  their  success: 

**Flour,  per  100  pounds,  112;  moose  ham,  per 
pound,  $1;  caribou  meat,  per  pound,  65  cents; 
beans,  per  pound,  10  cents;  rice,  per  pound,  25 
cents;  sugar,  per  pound,  25  cents;  bacon, 
per  pound,  40  cents;  butter,  per  roll,  ^1.50, 
eggs,  per  dozen,  $1.50  to  $2;  salmon,  each, 
$1,  to  $1.50;  potatoes,  per  pound,  25  cents; 
turnips,  per  pound,  15  cents;  tea,  per  pound,  $1; 
coffee,  per  pound,  50  cents;  dried  fruits,  per 
pound,  35  cents;  canned  fruits,  50  cents;  canned 
meats,  75  cents;  Lemons,  each,  20  cents;  Oranges, 
each,  50  cents;  tobacco,  per  pound,  $1.50 
liquors,  per  drink,  50  cents;  shovels,  $2.50 
picks,  $5;  coal  oil,  per  gallon,  $1;  overalls,  $1.50 
underwear,  per  suit,  $5  to  $7.50;  shoes,  $5;  rub- 
ber boots,  $10  to  $15." 

Although  most  of  the  Klondikers  are  returning 
home  with  plenty  of  gold,  they  all  advise  and 
urge  people  who  contemplate  goinf  to  the 
Yukon  not  to  think  of  taking  in  less  than  one 
ton  of  grub,  and  plenty  of  clothes.  While  it  is  a 
poor  man's  country,  yet  the  hardships  and  priva- 
tions to  be  encountered  by  inexperienced  persons 


N 


li :  i! 


"pwwfWBWPWS 


A  Mcmual  for  Gold  Seekers.  269 


unused  to  frontier  life  are  certain  to  result  in 
mucii  suffering  during  the  winter.  They  should 
go  prepared  with  at  least  a  year's  supplies. 

One  old  miner  recommends:  "Get  plenty  of 
staples  and  get  the  best  clothes  obtainable. '* 
This  authority  drew  attention  to  the  fact  that 
the  miner  should  follow  the  Shakespearian 
instruction  and  put  money  in  his  purse. 
Many  small  a^'ticles  will  be  needed  at  Dawson 
City,  and  if  the  p-ospector  goes  by  way  of  Juneau, 
there  are  guides  to  pay  and  a  sled  and  dogs  to 
hire.  Some  of  the  clothes  taken  will  last  longer 
than  a  year,  but  the  quantity  fit  for  service  at 
the  end  of  that  time  will  be  very  limited. 

Yet  another  informant  urges:  "One  should 
buy  these  things  in  Juneau,  and  he  should  start 
out  with  something  like  the  following: 

"Four  hundred  pounds  of  flour,  100  pounds  of 
beans,  100  pounds  of  bacon,  100  pounds  of  sugar, 
10  pounds  of  tea,  30  pounds  of  coffee,  150 
pounds  of  mixed  fruit,  salt,  pepper,  and  cooking 
utensils.  The  whole  outfit  can  be  purchased, 
well,  within  190.  The  cost  of  conveying  this 
stock  of  provisions  to  the  headwaters  of  Lake 
Lindermann  will  average  about  $15  per  hundred, 
(Now  much  higher — Ed.),  but  even  that  makes  it 
considerably  cheaper  than  the  same  goods  could  be 
purchased  in  the  mining  camp.  I  understand 
that  the  Commercial  Company  has  decided  to 


4^'' 


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!! 

270 


Klondike. 


carry  freight  for  the  travelers  next  season.  If 
this  is  true,  the  cost  to  the  prospector  will  be 
materially  lessened." 

The  tents  recently  provided  by  the  United 
States  Quartermaster's  Department  for  the  use 
of  the  troops  ordered  to  Alaska  are  well  adapted 
for  comfort  even  in  such  a  cold  country  as 
Alaska.  The  body  of  the  tent  is  made  of  12- 
ounce  army  standard  duck,  and  is  in  the  shape 
of  a  conical  wall  tent,  16  feet  5  inches  in  diame- 
ter, with  the  wall  3  feet  high.  The  special  fea- 
ture of  the  new  tent  is  the  stove  and  pipe,  the 
two  together  being  so  constructed  as  to  form  the 
center  pole  of  the  tent.  The  new  arrangement 
will,  it  is  claimed,  keep  the  temperature  at  a 
comfortable  point. 

Everybody  who  has  been  to  the  Klondike  by  way 
of  the  Juneau  route  and  down  the  Yukon  has 
something  to  say  of  the  difficulties  encountered 
in  building  suitable  boats  from  the  small  timber 
available.  The  trees  grow  very  closely  together 
and  do  not  attain  good  size.  Sometimes  it  is 
necessary  to  go  ten  or  fifteen  miles  inland  before 
suitable  trees  are  found,  and  then  the  logs  must 
be  laboriously  whipsawed  and  the  lumber  carried 
to  the  lakeside.  Many  have  concluded  that  the 
best  solution  of  the  boat-building  problem  is  to 
have  their  boats  made  elsewhere.  One  builder 
has  five  orders  from  persons  going  to  the  Klon- 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.  271 

dikft  for  boats  in  which  to  go  down  the  river. 
One  boat  iu  his  shop  is  twenty  feet  over  all,  five 
feet  beam,  and  two  feet  deep,  with  double  ends 
and  a  flat  bottom.  She  is  built  of  seasoned 
spruce,  and  the  knees  are  natural  crooks.  The 
boat  is  put  together  with  screws,  so  that  it  can 
be  taken  apart  for  transportation  and  readily  put 
together  when  the  lake  and  river  are  reached. 
Such  a  boat  costs  from  640  to  $60,  about  one-third 
what  inferior  boats  would  cost  on  the  Yukon, 
and  has  a  capacity  of  two  tons. 

Another  boi\t  is  described  as:  "Our  boat  Avas 
built  like  a  John  boat,  24  feet  long  and  5^  feet 
wide." 

A  Montana  man  wrote  back  to  a  relative:  "In 
addition  to  a  strong  constitution  there  are  many 
other  things  to  be  taken  into  consideration  be- 
fore venturing  upon  the  trip.  One  should  have 
a  practical  knowledge  of  placer  mining,  where  to 
look  for  gold,  and  once  found,  how  to  save  it. 
Theorists  may  be  all  right  in  some  countries,  but 
in  the  Yukon,  where  the  warm  season  does  not 
average  over  twelve  weeks  in  the  year,  experience 
will  be  found  to  be  a  very  expensive  teacher.  A 
bookkeeper  or  a  farmer  might  go  to  this  modern 
El  Dorado  and  find  an  extraordinarily  valuable 
claim,  but  the  old-time  prospector,  who. knows 
colors  when  he  sees  them,  would  stand  ninety-nine 
chances  to  the  former's  one  of  making  a  rich 
strike. 


I  ill 


272 


Klondihc. 


"Another  essential  is  a  sufficient  amount  of 
hard  cash  in  your  pocket  to  carry  you  over  a 
season  in  the  event  of  your  not  being  able  to 
locate  a  good  claim  the  first  summer.  No  one 
should  start  for  the  Yukon  country  with  less 
than  1200  in  cash  after  he  has  purchased  his  out- 
fit. Should  you  be  so  fortunate  as  to  find  a  good 
claim  the  first  season  it  is  likely  that  you  would 
not  be  able  to  realize  from  it  immediately. 
Nearly  all  of  the  summer  claims  require  drainage 
before  they  can  bo  worked,  and  that  is  both 
tedious  and  expensive.  On  the  winter  claims 
the  pay  gravel  is  taken  out  by  drifting  and  then 
allowed  to  lie  on  the  bank  until  the  following 
summer  before  the  gold  can  be  washed  out.  The 
necessity  of  having  sufficient  funds  to  carry  you 
over  a  season  is  therefore  very  apparent.  The 
trading  companies  operating  the  stores  on  the 
Yukon  will  not  extend  credit,  as  all  their  goods 
find  a  ready  sale  at  spot  cash.  If  you  have  not 
the  money  to  buy  a  winter's  outfit  in  the  event 
of  a  profitless  season,  you  will  have  to  subsist  on 
a  straight  diet  of  flour,  providing  you  are  lucky 
enough  to  have  the  flour.  Don't  go  to  the 
Yukon  broke  or  with  only  a  few  dollars,  or  you 
may  have  ab"    ^lant  reasons  to  regret  it. 

''After  having  decided  to  tempt  fortune  in 
the  Yukon  country,  the  first  consideration  is  your 
outfit,  where  to  get  it  and  what  it  should  consist 


..(4,-,!V--IU 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.  273 

of.     Nothing  must  be  taken  that  is  siiperfluous 
or  it  will  probably  be  thrown  away  before  the 
summit  of  the  mountains  is  crossed.     The  outfit 
should  consist  only  of  your  bedding,  provisions, 
and  tools  for  mining  and  boat  building.     Those 
who  have  the  money  to  invest  frequently  take  in 
a  two  years'  supply  of  provisions  and  say  it  is 
profitable  for  them  to  do  so.     No  one   should 
leave  Juneau  without  at  least  a  six  months'  sup- 
ply, and  the  more  you  can  take  the  better  you 
will  be  off  when  you  arrive  at  your  destination. 
An  outfit  of  fresh  provisions  will  always  find  a 
ready  sale  at  high  prices  at  the  mines,  and  there 
is  never  any  danger  of  taking   in   too   much. 
AVhat  constitutes  an  ideal  outfit  depends  much 
upon  one's  individual  taste,  and  the  length  of 
his  purse.     For  those  content  with  the  necessi- 
ties of  life  the  folloAving  may  serve  as  an  example 
of  the  provisions  one  man  will  consume  in  one 
month:    Flour,    25   pounds;   dessicated  vegeta- 
bles, 3  pounds;  dried  fruit,  5  pounds;  oatmeal, 
5  pounds;  coffee,  3  pounds;  bacon,  12  pounds; 
beans,  6  pounds;  sugar,  5  pounds;  tea,  1  pound; 
4  cans  condensed  milk;  salt  and  pepper,  matches 
and  mustard. 

"The  outfit  sufficient  to  last  one  man  six 
months  can  be  procured  in  Juneau  for  about  $36, 
with  a  liberal  discount  on  large  orders.  By  a 
simple  process  of  multiplication  the  amount  nee- 


|i:!  ; 

I' 

>*           1 

ll"  1 . 


274 


Klondike. 


essary  to  outfit  a  party  of  four  to  eight  persons 
can  easily  be  found.  Of  tools  one  should  take  a 
42-inch  steel  pick,  gold  pan,  rooker  irons,  steel 
pike,  full  spring  steel  shovel,  hand  saw,  rip  saw, 
whip  saw,  ax,  hatchet,  hammer,  copper  nails 
for  boat  building,  two  pounds  of  pitch,  two 
pounds  of  oakum,  tent,  pocket  knife,  shotgun, 
and  rifle,  and  100  feet  of  half-inch  rope.  In  case 
the  boat  is  purchased,  the  oakum,  pitch  and 
copper  nails  may  be  omitted  from  the  list. 

"In  clothing  one  should  provide  himself  with 
two  or  three  suits  of  heavy  underwear,  woolen 
socks,  woolen  shirts,  one  pair  of  hip  rubber  boots 
with  leather  soles,  one  pair  of  heavy  prospector's 
shoes,  a  suit  of  mackinaw  clothing,  an  oilskin 
coat,  a  sou'wester  hat,  three  pair  of  the  best 
woolen  blankets,  and  one  rubber  blanket.  Snow 
glasses  are  indispensable,  as  without  them  the  in- 
tense glare  of  the  sun  will  quickly  produce  snow 
blindness.  The  entire  outfit,  including  the 
articles  of  wearing  apparel  named,  will  cost  ap- 
proximately $100  and  will  weigh  about  700 
pounds.  The  trip  should  never  be  attempted 
alone,  but  should  be  made  in  parties  of  four  or 
eight  persons  each.  By  so  doing  all  can  use  the 
same  camp  outfit,  tent  and  boat,  and  will  not 
only  lessen  the  individual  cost  of  the  portion  of 
the  outfit,  but  packing  and  boat  building  will  be 
greatly  expedited  where  there  are  a  number  of 
hands  to  do  the  work." 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.  275 

**The  demand  for  dogs  last  winter  could  not  be 
supplied.     Dogs  are  a  necessary  feature  of  arctic 
travel,  and  when  a  man  decided  that  he  wanted 
to  go  from  Circle  City  to  Klondike  last  winter, 
the  first  thing  he  considered  was  whether  or  not 
he  could  get  a  dog  to  help  pull  his  outfit  through 
th  •  snow.     It  was  nothing  unusual  to  see  a  man 
and  a  dog  harnessed  together  to  a  loaded  sled, 
both  pulling  with  all  their  might.     It  seemed 
strange  at  first  to  see  dogs,  thin-bodied,  long- 
haired,  woolfish-looking  animals,    used   in    the 
place  of  horses.     But  they  pull  well,  eat  little, 
and  sleep  out  on  the  cold  snow  all  night,  no  mat- 
ter if  it  is  50  or  60  degrees  below  zero.     No  horse 
could  stand  such  treatment  as  these  poor  dogs 
receive.     There  are  regular  ''freighters,"  though ; 
they  use  dog  teams  and  sleds  instead  of  horses 
and  wagons,  hitching  from  six  to  twelve  tough 
dogs  to  a  sled;  they  pull  a  heavy  load  and  get 
over  the  ground  at  a  lively  pace.     One  hundred 
pounds  to  the  dog  is  the  rule. 

"The  price  of  dogs  last  winter  doubled,  a  few 
of  the  best  bringing  as  high  as  $150.  It  was  al- 
most impossible  to  buy  one  for  less  than  $100, 
no  matter  how  poor  he  was.  Some  Indians 
thought  it  better  to  rent  out  their  dogs  at  $1  or 
more  per  day.  If  some  man  has  the  Klondike 
fever  and  has  no  money  to  buy  or  rent  a  dog, 
a  friend  who  cannot  go  often  furnishes  the  dog  and 


rif 


ti'  < . 


I 


MS 


ll 


276 


Klondll'c. 


sends  him  up,  the  dog-owner  thus  securing  a 
half-in  (irest  in  the  prospect  or  chiim." 

While  the  miners  and  prospectors  >vho  have 
been  to  Alaska  invariably  advise  intending  gold 
hunters  to  take  an  outfit  weighing  from  1,500 
pounds  to  a  ton  and  a  half,  it  is  a  fact  that  very 
few  of  those  who  have  already  departed  have 
taken  anywhere  near  the  amount  p-lvised.  What 
the  result  of  this  failure  to  follow  the  advice  of 
those  who  have  had  experience  in  the  Yukon 
will  be  cannot  be  known  until  next  spring,  when 
the  icy  fetters  of  the  frozen  arctic  region  release 
the  prisoners  of  the  winter  and  give  their  stories 
to  the  Avorld.  Many  of  those  who  are  starting 
now  are  doing  so  with  an  entire  capital  of  not 
over  $300,  wheroas  the  returning  miners  advise 
a  man  not  to  think  of  going  with  less  than  1500 
to  $750,  or  even  $1,000.  However,  conditions 
of  transportation  and  supply  are  changing  almost 
daily,  and  the  Yukoners  are  relying  on  improved 
facilities  which  the  old  ones  knew  nothing  of. 

Many  people  ask  what  a  Yukon  stove  is.  To 
save  weight  the  stoves  for  that  country  have 
been  made  of  sheet-iron.  They  are  very  simple, 
being  just  a  box,  with  oven  at  the  back  and  a 
telescope  pipe.  Some  have  a  drum  above  the 
stove  ior  baking.  The  iron  barrels  or  tanks  in 
which  coal  oil  is  taken  into  the  country  are  made 
into  stoves  for  the  stores  and  saloons. 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.  2*^7 

It  IS  a  very  important  matter  to  have  the  f^up- 
plies  properly  paoked  to  guard  against  damage 
by  water  and  rough  handling.  The  packs  are 
made  up  to  weigh  about  seventy-five  pounds. 
First  they  are  put  in  canvas  bags,  and  then  are 
wrapped  securely  in  oilcloth.  Should  they  be 
exposed  to  rain,  dropped  in  wet  snow  or  even 
immersed  for  a  short  time  in  the  river,  practi- 
cally no  damage  will  result.  Any  of  those  about 
to  leave  for  Klondike  who  have  packed  carelessly 
would  do  well  to  have  tlieir  outfits  repacked  at 
Juneau. 

Robert  Krook,  a  returned  Swedish  Klondike 
miner,  says  that  Esquimo  dogs  will  draw  200 
pounds  each  on  a  sled,  so  that  six  dogs  will  draw 
a  year's  supplies  for  one  man.  He,  however, 
puts  in  the  proviso  that  the  sleds  should  not 
have  iron  runners,  because  the  snow  sticks  to 
the  iron  and  increases  the  friction  so  much  that 
the  dogs  cannot  haul  more  than  100  pounds 
apiece.  With  brass  runners  this  drawback  is 
obviated.  Last  winter  Esquimo  dogs  cost  from 
$75  to  $200  apiece,  and  he  does  not  think  the 
price  will  increase  materially,  because  when  the 
demand  is  known  the  supply  from  other  parts  of 
Alaska  will  be  plentiful  at  Dyea,  and  other  points 
along  the  Yukon.  Sometimes  the  feet  of  the 
dogs  get  sore,  and  then  the  Indians  fit  moccasins 
on  them;  as  soon,  however,  as  the  tenderness  is 


i 


*'  m.  I  11 


278 


Klondike. 


gone  from  their  feet  the  dogs  will  bite  and  tear 
the  moccasins  olL  Draught  dogs  need  no  lines 
to  guide  them  and  are  very  intelligent,  learning 
readily  to  obey  a  command  to  turn  in  any  direc- 
tion or  to  stop.  They  have  to  be  watched  closely, 
as  they  will  attack  and  devour  stores  left  in  their 
way,,  especially  bacon,  which  must  be  hung  up 
out  of  their  reach.  At  night  when  camp  is 
pitched,  the  moment  a  blanket  is  thrown  upon 
the  ground  they  will  run  into  it  and  curl  up, 
neither  cuffs  nor  kicks  sufficing  to  budge  them. 
They  lie  as  close  up  to  the  men  who  own  them  as 
possible  and  the  minor  cannot  wrap  himself  up 
so  close  that  they  won't  get  under  his  blanket 
with  him.  They  are  human,  too,  in  their  disin- 
clination to  get  out  in  the  morning. 

Where  sleds  cannot  be  used  the  dogs  will 
carry  fifty  pounds  apiece  in  saddlebags  slung 
across  their  backs  pannier  fashion.  Nature  has 
fitted  these  dogs  for  their  work,  and  other  breeds 
are  not  as  serviceable.  The  latter  cannot  stand 
the  intense  cold  so  well,  and  though  at  first  they 
will  draw  the  sleds  cheerfully,  their  feet  fail 
under  the  strain,  and  begin  to  bleed  so  freely 
that  the  dogs  are  useless.  The  pads  under  the 
feet  of  the  Esquimo  dogs  are  of  tougher  skin. 

Mules  and  burros  are  being  used  between  Dyea 
and  Lake  Lindermann  to  pack  supplies  over  the 
summit  of  Chilkoot  Pass.  There  are  a  few 
horses  in  the  Yukon  country. 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seehei's.         279 

A  gentleman  who  has  had  a  long  experience 
with  dog  teams  in  the  Northwest  wrote  to  the 
London,  Ontario,  Times  :      , 

"Well,  here  we  are  down  on  the  ice,  and  the 
dogs  impatient  to  start.  The  sled  consists  of  a 
narrow  box  four  feet  long,  the  front  half  being 
covered  or  boxed  in,  mounted  on  a  floor  eight 
feet  long  resting  on  runners.  In  this  box  the 
passenger  sits,  wrapped  in  rabbit  skins  so  that 
he  can  hardly  move,  his  head  and  shoulders  only 
projecting.  In  front  and  behind  and  on  top  of 
the  box  is  placed  all  the  luggage,  covered  with 
canvas  and  securely  lashed,  to  withstand  all  the 
jolting  and  possible  upsets,  and  snow  shoes 
within  easy  reach. 

An  important  item  is  the  dog  whip,  terrible  to 
the  dog  if  used  by  a  skillful  band,  and  terrible  to 
the  user  if  he  be  a  novice;  for  he  is  sure  to  half 
strangle  himself,  or  to  hurt  his  own  face  with 
the  business  end  of  the  lash.  The  whip  I  used 
had  a  handle  nine  inches  long  and  a  lash  of  thirty 
feet,  and  it  weighed  four  pounds.  The  lash  was 
of  folded  and  plaited  seal  hide,  and  for  five  feet 
from  the  handle  measured  five  inches  round, 
then  for  fourteen  feet  it  gradually  tapered  off, 
ending  in  a  single  thong  half  an  inch  thick  and 
eleven  feet  long.  Wonderful  the  dexterity  with 
which  a  driver  can  pick  out  a  dog  and  almost  a 
spot  on  that  dog  with  this  lash.    The  lash  must 


280 


Klondike. 


K  ( 


•■i  '  . 


■•Mi 


^ 


be  trailing  at  full  length  behind,  when  a  jerk 
and  turn  of  the  wrist  cause  it  to  fly  forward,  the 
thick  part  iirst,  the  tapering  end  continuing  the 
motion  till  it  is  at  full  length  in  front,  and  the 
lash  then  making  the  fur  fly  from  the  victim. 
But  often  it  is  made  to  crack  over  the  heads  of 
the  dogs  as  t>.  warning. 

"The  eleven  dogs  were  harnessed  to  the  frt-nt 
of  the  sled,  each  by  a  separate  thong  of  seal 
hide,  all  of  different  lengths,  fastened  to  a  light 
canvas  harness.  The  nearest  dog  was  about 
fifteen  feet  from  the  sled,  and  the  leader,  with 
bells  on  her,  about  fifty  feet,  the  thongs  thus  in- 
creasing in  length  by  about  three  feet.  When 
the  going  is  good  the  dogs  spread  out  like  the 
fingers  of  a  hand,  but  Avhen  the  snow  is  deep 
they  fall  into  each  other's  tracks  in  almost  single 
file.  As  they  continually  cross  and  recross  each 
other,  the  thongs  get  gradually  plaited  almost 
up  to  the  rearmost  dog,  when  a  halt  is  called, 
the  dogs  are  made  to  lie  down,  and  the  driver 
carefully  disentangles  them,  taking  care  that  no 
dog  gets  away  meanwhile.  They  are  guided  by 
the  voice,  using  "husky,"  that  is,  Esquimo 
words:  "Owk,"  go  to  the  right;  "Arrah"  to  the 
left,  and  "holt,"  straight  on.  But  often  one 
of  the  men  must  run  ahead  on  snowshoes  for  the 
dogs  to  follow  him." 

The  dress  adopted  by  the  whalers  gives  a  good 


.rr 


^.a:^' 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         281 

idea  of  what  is  required  on  the  arctic  shores  of 
Alapiv  t.  Over  a  suit  of  flannel  underwear,  the 
bailor  uons  a  suit  of  caribou  tanned  by  the  Esqui- 
mos,  with  the  fur  inside.  Then  follow  sealskin 
trousers,  and  a  sealskin  or  reindeer  overcoat, 
having  a  hood.  Woolen  mittens  with  sealskin 
mittens  over  them  protect  the  hands,  while  two 
pairs  of  heavy  woolen  hose  and  native  skin  boots 
coming  well  up  on  the  thigh  keep  the  feet 
warm.  It  is  best  to  line  the  boots  with  moss,  as 
that  is  a  good  non-conductor.  With  such  cloth- 
ing a  temperature  of  60  degrees  below  zero  is  en- 
durable. In  still  weather  a  man  may  expose 
himself  in  safety,  but  in  very  cold  weather  shelter 
must  be  sought,  or  all  the  clothes  the  traveler 
could  put  on  would  not  prevent  his  freezing  to 
death.  Even  the  Indians  occasionally  perish 
when  caught  far  from  camp  by  a  sudden  storm. 


If '  J 


T 


t  w. 


til 


[  H 


1,^! 


k  i.' 
hi  i ; 

V 


\"i 


•1 


11,  ^ 


I?  ■   ' 


'I 


282 


Klondike, 


THE  MOUNTED  POLICE. 

"That  even  in  the  most  remote  spots  in  the 
world  over  which  flies  the  flag  of  a  civilized 
nation  there  should  exist  the  perfect  administra- 
tion of  justice  and  enforced  regard  for  personal 
rights,  is  one  of  the  triumphs  that  the  nineteenth 
century  can  boast  of  as  its  own,"  says  a  writer  of 
the  San  Francisco  Chronicle,  "and  no  govern- 
ment in  the  history  of  the  world  can  lay  claim  to 
having  carried  this  marvel  of  executive  foresight 
to  such  a  degree  of  perfection  as  that  of  Great 
Britain.  The  trite  saying  that  'if  you  tread  on 
an  Englishman's  toes  in  the  Cannibal  Islands 
there  will  be  a  warship  round  the  corner  next 
morning,'  is  something  more  than  a  jest,  and  it 
is  equally  true  that,  no  matter  how  far  removed 
from  the  seat  of  government  a  human  being  may 
be,  if  Great  Britain  owns  the  soil  on  which  he 
lives  and  toils,  he  may  rest  assured  that,  to 
whatever  country  he  owes  his  allegiance,  his 
rights  will  be  rigidly  protected  and  his  crimes 
swifty  punished." 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seel'ers.  283 

Here  and  there  among  the  mass  of  matter  tliat 
has  been  written  concerning  the  wonderful  Klon- 
dike mines,  brief  allusions  have  been  made  <.d 
the  fact  that  a  little  body  of  mounted  police  hr.rj 
been  patrolling  the  district  ever  since  the  excite- 
ment began,  keeping  perfect  order,  and  preserv- 
ing among  the  constantly  swelling  populations 
of  the  various  camps  as  peaceable  conditions  as 
can  be  found  in  the  heart  of  any  civilized  con'- 
munity. 

And  in  all  the  speculation  concerning  the 
future  of  the  locality,  its  probable  immense 
growth,  and  the  fear  of  starvation,  sickness  and 
death,  no  f^r  has  ever  been  expressed  that  any- 
thing in  the  nature  of  lawlessness  or  crime  may 
get  the  upper  hand,  and  run  rampant,  or  that 
property  rights  anu  safety  of  the  person  will  be 
in  the  least  danger. 

Vigilantes  are  to  be  unknown  in  this  northern 
and  snowbound  El  Dorado. 

Though  the  excellent  British  mining  laws,  or 
rather  laws  founded  by  the  Ca)^^dian8  on  British 
precedent,  are  in  the  main  responsible  for  this 
feeling  of  security,  the  men  who  undertake  their 
enforcement  are,  after  all,  entitled  to  a  great 
share  of  the  credit,  for  good  laws  illy  enforced 
are  worse  than  useless.  The  Northwest  Mounted 
Police  of  Canada,  a  body  whose  v,onderful  dis- 
cipline and  bravery  have   given  the  Dominion 


!    ■!         ! 


m 


iJi:  I 


i 


iii  I 


s   ■     i: 


:k 


I 
I 


I 


284 


Klondike. 


food  for  most  of  her  later  literature,  are  the 
officers  in  whose  hands  has  been  placed  the  carry- 
ing out  of  these  laws,  and  at  this  time,  there- 
fore, something  concerning  the  organization  and 
its  internal  workings  should  be  of  interest. 

The  Northwest  Mounted  Police,  whose  scarlet 
tunic  is  the  symbol  of  law  and  order  in  the 
Northwest,  were  organized  when  Alexander 
Mackenzie  was  premier,  and  were  one  of  Sir 
John  Macdonald's  inspirations,  and  after  his  re- 
turn to  power  in  1878  they  always  remained 
under  his  owii  eye.  The  nucleus  of  the  force 
was  got  together  at  Manitoba  in  1873.  They 
originally  numbered  300,  but  by  their  coolness 
and  pluck  at  critical  periods  they  accomplished 
much  in  reducing  the  Indians  and  lawless 
whisky  traders  to  a  state  of  order.  The  police 
built  posts  and  protected  tlie  white  settlers,  and 
the  surveyors,  who  had  already  begun  parceling 
out  the  country,  and  exploring  the  route  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  In  1877  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  little  force  was  concentrated  on  the 
southwestern  frontier,  to  watch  and  check  the 
6,000  Sioux  who  sought  refuge  in  Canada  after 
having  massacred  General  Custer  and  his  men 
on  the  Little  Big  Ilorn.  It  was  the  mounted 
police  that  forced  these  Sioux  warriors  to  sur- 
render themselves  to  the  United  States  authori- 
ties in  1880-1881,     When    tLe  desperate    half- 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         285 


Ithori- 
half. 


breeds,  under  the  leadership  of  the  cruel  Louis 
Kiel,  rose  against  the  authorities  in  1885,  the 
mounted  police  took  a  prominent  part  in  their 
suppression,  and  the  force  was  then  increased  to 
1,000  men.  Recently,  however,  the  corps  has 
not  numbered  more  than  600  troopers,  as  times 
were  quiet  in  the  Northwest  Territories,  and 
there  was  little  need  of  a  strong  body  of  men  to 
keep  order.  It  is  likely  that  three  or  four  hun- 
dred men  will  be  promptly  enlisted  for  service 
in  the  Yukon  country. 

The  Northwest  Police,  like  the  Royal  Irish 
Constabulary,  on  which  it  was  modeled,  is  in  the 
eye  of  the  law  a  purely  civil  body.  Its  officers  are 
magistrates;  the  men  are  constables.  But  so  far 
as  circumstances  will  allow,  its  organization  in- 
ternal economy,  and  drill  are  those  of  a  cavalry 
regiment;  and  the  officers  have  army  rank  when 
on  active  service. 

The  affairs  of  the  force  are  managed  by  a  de- 
partment at  Ottawa,  under  the  supervision  of  a 
cabinet  minister. 

The  executive  command  is  held  by  a  commis- 
sioner, ranking  as  lieutenant-colonel.  The  as- 
sistant commissioner  ranks  with  a  major,  and 
after  three  years'  service  as  a  lieutenant-colonel. 
Ten  superintendents,  holding  captains'  rank, 
command  the  divisions,  with  about  thirty-five 
inspectors  as  subalterns,  who  correspond  to  lieu- 
tenants. 


286 


Klondike. 


f  '■! 


: 


\  •  s 


IH'I 


The  medical  staff  consists  of  a  surgeon,  five 
assistant  surgeons,  and  two  veterinary  surgeons. 

The  rank  and  file  are  equal  to  those  of  any 
crack  corps  in  the  wide  world.  A  recruit  must 
be  between  23  years  and  45  years  old;  of  good 
character;  able  to  read  and  write  English  or 
French;  active;  well  built,  and  of  sound  consti- 
tution. The  physique  is  very  fine,  the  average 
of  the  whole  thousand  being  5  feet  9|  inches 
in  height,  and  38^  inches  around  the  chest. 
Many  scions  of  English  county  families  are  in 
the  corps,  several  of  them  having  titles.  A  son 
of  Lady  Hitt  is  now  a  trooper  at  Calgary,  North- 
west Territory.  He  is  6  feet  4  inches  tall  and  as 
powerful  as  any  three  average  men.  Lots  of 
young  Englishmen  who  have  failed  in  the  far  West 
through  frozen  wheat,  or  some  such  usual  draw- 
back to  prairie  farming,  have  drifted  into  the 
police,  as  also  many  well-brought-up  Canadians. 
Men  of  every  calling  are  to  be  found  in  the 
ranks. 

The  officers'  pay  is  not  large,  ranging  from 
$2,400  a  year  down  to  11,000  with  quarters, 
rations,  fuel  and  service  free. 

Of  all  the  hard,  tough  work  to  be  done  in  the 
Klondike  region  the  Canadian  Mounted  Police 
will  have  the  hardest  and  the  toughest.  But 
they  are  used  to  that,  and  no  one  who  has  seen 
them  will  doubt  that  better  men  for  such  peril- 
ous service  do  not  exist.  .>< 


3ril- 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         287 

The  boundary  line  which  these  rough  riders  of 
the  plains  have  to  patrol  is  2,000  miles  long,  and 
with  the  present  mining  excitement  in  full  swing 
their  work  will  be  quadrupled.  It  is  forbidden 
to  give  ''firewater''  to  the  Indians,  though  saloons 
are  licensed  in  all  the  mining  camps. 

For  the  past  three  years  there  have  been  but 
twenty  policemen  on  the  Yukon,  but  the  force 
in  that  region  has  been  raised  to  200,  and  the 
whole  put  under  the  command  of  Major  Walsh, 
one  of  the  firmest  and  most  experienced  officers 
of  the  force.  The  advance  guard  have  already 
started,  taking  with  them  two  rapid-fire  Maxim 
guns,  each  capable  of  firing  1,200  shots  a  minute. 

Fifty  constables  will  enforce  the  customs  regu- 
lations at  Lake  Lindermann,  and  succor  belated 
travelers  overtaken  by  early  winter  storms.  A 
hundred  will  be  posted  at  Dawson  City,  and  the 
remainder  be  used  as  flying  patrols,  penetrating 
to  the  most  remote  diggings,  and  putting  terror 
into  the  breast  of  the  evildoer. 

**Major  Walsh,  who  has  been  selected  as  the 
administrative  officer  of  the  Canadian  Yukon  by 
the  Canadian  Government,  is  widely  known  to 
American  miners  on  the  Canadian  border  line 
and  to  United  States  army  officers  on  the  fron- 
tier," says  the  New  York  Tribune.  "His  iron- 
gray  hair  is  brushed  back  from  his  forehead,  and 
he  wears  a  mustache  and  a  dab  of  hair  on  his 


% 


288 


Klondike . 


f  T< 


II 


I  '! 


chin  that  emphasizes  his  square  jaw.  The  major 
is  5  feet  10  inches  tall,  and  weighs  about  190 
pounds.  He  is  as  straight  as  an  arrow,  square- 
shouldered  and  athletic,  and  he  is  admired  by 
the  men  and  adored  by  the  women  in  the  regions 
where  he  is  best  known.  His  career  in  Manitoba 
and  ^he  Northwest  is  replete  with  stirring  inci- 
dents. He  is  as  brave  as  a  lion,  a  strict  discip- 
linarian, tactful  and  just.  Major  Walsh  pos- 
sesses a  fair  share  of  the  world's  goods,  and  he  is 
generous  and  warm  hearted,  true  and  loyal  to 
his  friends. 

"It  was  Major  Walsh  who  organized  the  North- 
west mounted  police,  one  of  the  most  efficient 
bodies  of  men  under  the  flag  of  Great  Britain. 
Fort  Walsh  was  named  after  him,  and  his  fame 
as  a  suppressor  of  lawlessness  and  his  just  dealings 
with  the  Indians  made  his  name  a  watchword 
among  the  early  settlers  in  Manitoba  and  British 
Columbia.  If  his  advice  had  been  taken,  there 
would  have  been  no  Eiel  rebellion  in  Manitoba. 
When  General  Miles  chased  Sitting  Bull  and  his 
Sioux  warriors  out  of  the  Little  Big  Horn  region 
across  the  border  line  into  British  territory 
Major  Walsh  rounded  them  up  and  received  the 
surrender  of  Sitting  Bull.  At  this  time  he  mac^e 
the  acquaintance  of  General  Miles,  and  they  be- 
came fast  friends.  General  Miles  is  a  great  ad- 
mirer of  Major  Walsh,  and  considers  him  one  of 


!  II       1 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         289 

tlic  best  organizers  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  in- 
telligent., far-seeing,  astute  commaudcrs  he  has 
ever  met. 

"Major  Walsh  is  eminently  fitted  for  the  post, 
and  every  American  miner  from  the  Canadian 
boundary  line  to  Mexico  feels  confident  that  ho 
will  receive  all  that  is  justly  due  to  him  through 
the  offices  of  Major  Walsh.  The  new  adminis- 
trator will  have  three  hundred  selected  men, 
properly  armed  and  equipped,  and  several  Maxim 
guns  as  a  force  under  his  command. 

*'With  Major  Walsh  at  the  head  of  the  Yukon 
police,  the  Klondike  region  on  the  Canadian  side 
of  the  line  will  be  a  region  to  which  the  bad  men 
who  shoot  will  do  well  to  give  a  wide  berth. 
Major  AValsh  and  his  men  are  familiar  with  deso- 
late, waste  regions  from  Hudson  Bay  to  the 
Rockies,  and  from  the  boundary  lino  of  the 
United  States  to  the  region  of  eternal  ice  and 
snow  of  the  Arctic.  The  men  are  inured  to 
hardship,  and  their  commander  knows  just  what 
they  require  for  their  duties  in  the  Klondike 
region.  It  is  probable  that  the  expedition  will 
essay  the  crossing  of  the  Chilkoot  Pass  and  at- 
tempt to  reach  the  mining  regions  by  November. 
It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  expedition  under  Major 
Walsh's  command  will  be  the  best  equipped  that 
has  yet  started  for  the  new  laud  of  gold.'* 


290 


Klondike. 


W  f 


r  ii 


h'  ,t; 


ii 


f 


I   I  i 


I 


'      i 


CANADIAN  MINING  LAWS. 

TiiE  Yukon  district  is  in  the  Nortiiwest  Terri- 
tories, and  is  therefore  subject  to  Dominion  land 
and  mineral  laws.  The  Province  of  British  Col- 
umbia extends  but  to  the  GOth  parallel  of  north 
hvtitude,  and  her  laws  consequently  do  not 
apply  to  the  Klondike  region. 

Since  the  news  of  the  recent  rich  finds  have 
reached  the  outside  world  the  Dominion  cabinet 
has  met  and  passed  new  regulations,  making  im- 
portant modifications  of  the  rules  passed  last 
spring.  The  new  regulations  should  be  atten- 
tively studied  by  the  miner. 

The  following  are  the  precise  terms  of  the 
amended  regulations  governing  gold  mining  in 
the  Yukon  that  appeared  in  the  Official  Gazette 
of  August  14: 

''That  the  regulations  governing  the  disposal 
of  placer  mining  claims  along  the  Yukon  River 
and  its  tributaries  in  the  Northwest  Territories, 
established  by  order  in  Council,  be  amended  by 
providing  that  entry  can  only  be  granted  for  al- 
ternate claims,  known  as  creek  claims,   bench 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         291 

claims,  bar  diggings  and  dry  diggings,  and  that 
the  other  alternate  claims  be  reserved  for  the 
(Jrown  to  be  disposed  of  by  public  auction. or  in 
such  manner  as  may  be  decided  by  the  Minister 
of  the  Interior. 

*'That  the  penalty  for  trespassing  upon  a 
claim  reserved  for  the  Crown  be  the  immediate 
cancellation  by  the  Gold  Commissioner  of  any 
entry  or  entries  which  the  person  trespassing 
may  have  obtained,  whether  by  original  entry  or 
purchase,  for  a  mining  claim,  and  the  refusal  by 
the  Gold  Commissioner  of  the  acceptance  of  any 
application  which  the  person  trespassing  may 
at  any  time  make  for  claims;  and  that  in  addi- 
tion to  such  penalty  the  Mounted  Police  upon 
a  requisition  from  the  Gold  Commissioner  to 
that  effect,  may  take  the  necessary  steps  to  eject 
the  trespasser. 

"That  upon  all  gold  mined  on  the  claims  re- 
ferred to  in  the  regulation  for  the  government 
of  placer  mining  along  the  Yukon  River  and  its 
tributaries,  a  royalty  of  10  per  cent,  shall  be 
levied  and  collected  by  officers,  to  be  appointed 
for  the  purpose,  provided  that  the  amount  mined 
and  taken  from  a  single  claim  does  not  exceed 
$500  per  week,  and  in  case  the  amount  mined 
and  taken  from  any  single  claim  exceeds  $500 
per  week  there  shall  be  levied  and  collected  a 
royalty  of  10  per  cent,  upon  the  amount  so  taken 


202 


Klondilce. 


IV 


ii  J 


;;  j! 


out  up  to  $500,  mid  upon  the  excess  or  amount 
taken  from  any  single  claim  over  loOO  per  week 
there  hhall  he  levied  and  collected  a  royalty  of 
20  per  cent.;  such  royalty  to  form  part  of  the 
consolidated  revenue,  and  to  be  accounted  for 
by  the  officers  who  collect  the  same  in  due  course. 

"That  the  times  and  manner  in  which  such 
royalty  shall  be  collected,  and  the  persons  who 
shall  collect  the  same,  shall  be  provided  for  by 
regulations  to  be  made  by  the  Gold  Commis- 
sioner, and  that  the  Gold  Commissioner  be  and  is 
hereby  given  authority  to  make  such  regulations 
and  rules  accordingly. 

"That  default  in  payment  of  such  royalty,  if 
continued  for  ten  days  after  notice  has  been 
posted  upon  the  claim  in  respect  of  which  it  is 
demanded,  or  in  the  vicinity  of  such  claim  by 
the  Gold  Commissioner  or  his  agent,  shall  be 
followed  by  the  cancellation  of  the  claim. 

"That  any  attempt  to  defraud  the  Crown  by 
withholding  any  part  of  the  revenue  thus  pro- 
vided for  by  making  false  etatements  of  the 
amount  taken  out  may  be  punished  by  cancella- 
tion of  the  claim  in  respect  of  which  fraud  or 
false  statements  have  been  committed  or  made; 
and  that  in  respect  of  facts  as  to  such  fraud  or 
false  statement  or  non-payment  of  royalty,  the 
decision  of  the  Gold  Commissioner  shall  be 
final." 


A  Manual  foi'  Gold  Scehcrs. 


293 


Anotluir  order-in-C'ounoil  roads  as  follows: 

*'Wliorous,  cluiiso  7  of  the  rcguliitions  govern- 
ing the  disposal  of  placer  mijics  on  the  Ynkon 
River  and  its  tributaries  in  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tories, established  by  order-in-Council  of  the  2l8t 
of  May,  181)7,  provides  that  if  any  person  shall 
discover  a  new  mine,  and  such  discovery  shall  be 
established  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Gold  Com- 
missioner, a  claim  for  'bar  diggings'  750  feet  in 
length  may  be  granted;  and,  whereas,  the  inten- 
tion was  to  grant  a  claim  of  750  feet  in  length  to 
the  discoverer  of  any  new  mine  upon  a  creek  or 
river,  and  not  to  grant  a  claim  of  that  length  for 
'bar  diggings,'  His  Excellency,  by  and  with  the 
advice  of  the  Queen's  Privy  Council  for  Canada, 
is  pleased  to  order  that  clause  7  of  the  said  regu- 
lations governing  the  disposal  of  placer  mines  on 
the  Yukon  River  and  its  tributaries,  shall  be  and 
the  same  is  hereby  amended,  so  that  the  above 
grant  to  a  discoverer  may  apply  to  creek  and 
river  claims  instead  of  to  'bar  diggings.'  " 

The  remainder  of  the  mining  regulations  were 
not  amended;  they  are  as  follows: 

"  'Bar  diggings'  shall  mean  any  part  of  a  river 
over  which  the  water  extends  when  the  water  is 
in  its  flooded  state,  and  which  is  not  covered  at 
low  water.  Mines  on  benches  shall  be  known 
as  *bench  diggings,'  and  shall,  for  the  purpose 
of  defining  the  size  of  such  claims,  be  excepted 


I 


294 


Klondike, 


i:  i  I 


iL         Vi 


\: 


il    ;|!|,' 


from  dry  diggings.  *Dry  diggings/  shall  mean 
any  mine  over  which  a  river  never  extends. 
*Minor'  shall  mean  a  male  or  female  over  the 
age  of  18  years,  but  not  under  that  age. 
'Claim'  shall  mean  the  personal  right  of 
property  in  a  placer  mine  or  diggings  during  the 
time  for  which  the  grant  of  such  mine  or  dig- 
gings is  made.  'Legal  post'  shall  mean  a  stake 
standing  not  less  than  four  feet  above  the 
ground,  and  s:quared  on  four  sides  at  least  one 
foot  from  the  top.  Both  sides  so  squared  shall 
measure  at  least  four  inches  across  the  face.  It 
shall  also  mean  any  stump  or  tree  cut  off, 
squared  or  faced  to  the  above  height  and  size. 
'Close  season'  shall  mean  the  period  of  the  year 
during  which  placer  mining  is  generally  sus- 
pended, the  period  to  be  fixed  by  the  gold  com- 
missioner in  whose  district  the  claim  is  situated. 
'Locality'  shall  mean  the  territory  along  a  river 
(tributary  of  the  Yukon  River  and  its  affluents). 
'Mineral'  shall  include  all  minerals  whatsoever 
other  than  coal.  'Placer  mining'  shall  mean 
the  working  of  all  forms  of  deposits  excepting 
veins  of  quartz  or  other  rock  in  place. 

"  'Bag  digging'  is  a  strip  of  land  100  feet  wide 
at  high-water  mark,  and  thence  extending  into 
the  river  to  its  lowest  water  level. 

"The  sides  of  a  claim  for  bag  digging  shall  be 
two  parallel  lines  run  as  nearly  as  possible  at 


A  Mcmual  for  Gold  Seekers,         295 

right  angles  to  ino  stream,  and  shall  be  marked 
by  four  legal  posts,  one  at  each  end  of  the  claim, 
at  or  about  high-water  mark;  also  one  at  each 
end  of  the  claim  at  or  about  the  edge  of  the 
water.  One  of  the  posts  at  high-water  mark 
shall  be  legally  marked  with  the  name  of  the 
miner  and  the  date  upon  which  the  claim  was 
staked.  Dry  diggings  shall  be  100  feet  square, 
and  shall  have  placed  at  each  of  its  four  corners 
a  legal  post,  upon  one  of  which  shall  be  legally 
marked  the  name  of  the  miner  and  the  date 
upon  which  the  claim  was  staked. 

"Creek  and  river  claims  shall  be  500  feet  long 
measured  in  the  direction  of  the  general  course 
of  the  utream,  and  shall  extend  in  width  from 
base  to  base  of  the  hill  or  bench  on  each  side, 
but  when  the  hills  or  benches  are  less  than  100 
feet  apart  the  claim  may  be  100  feet  in  depth. 
The  sides  of  a  claim  shall  be  two  parallel  lines 
run  as  nearly  as  possible  at  right  angles  to  the 
stream.  The  sides  shall  be  marked  with  legal 
posts  at  or  about  the  edge  of  the  water  and  at  the 
rear  boundaries  of  the  claim.  One  of  the  legal 
posts  at  the  stream  shall  be  legibly  marked  with 
the  name  of  the  miner  and  the  date  upon  which 
the  claim  was  staked. 

"Bench  claims  shall  be  100  feet  square.  In 
defining  the  size  of  the  claims  they  shall  be 
measured  horizontally  irrespective  of  inequali- 
ties on  the  surface  of  the  ground. 


i 


n  hi 


li 


I      m 


296 


Khndike. 


"If  any  person  or  persons  shall  discover  a  new 
mine  and  such  discovery  shall  be  established  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  Gold  Commissioner  a  claim 
for  creek  and  river  diggings,  750  feet  in  length, 
may  be  granted.  A  new  stratum  of  auriferous 
earth  or  gra^  el  situated  in  a  locality  where  the 
claims  are  abandoned  shall  for  this  purpose  be 
deemed  a  new  mine,  although  the  same  locality 
shall  have  been  previously  worked  at  a  different 
level. 

"The  forms  of  application  for  a  grant  for  placer 
mining  and  the  grant  of  the  same  shall  be  that 
contained  in  the  form  found  at  the  foot  of  these 
regulations.  A  claim  shall  be  recorded  with  the 
Gold  Commissioner  in  whose  district  it  is  situated 
within  three  days  after  the  location  thereof  if  it 
is  located  within  ten  miles  of  the  Commissioner's 
office.  One  extra  day  shall  be  allowed  for  mak- 
ing such  record  for  every  additional  ten  miles  or 
fraction  thereof.  In  the  event  of  the  absence  of 
the  Gold  Commissioner  from  his  office,  entry  for 
a  claim  may  be  granted  by  any  person  whom  he 
may  appoint  to  perform  his  duties  in  his  absence. 

"Entry  shall  not  be  granted  for  a  claim  which 
has  not  been  staked  by  the  applicant  in  person 
in  the  manner  specified  in  these  regulations. 
An  affidavit  that  the  claim  was  staked  out  by 
the  applicant  shall  be  embodied  in  form  "II"'  of 
the  schedule  hereto.     An  entry  fee  of  $15  shall 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         297 

be  charged  for  the  first  year,  and  an  annual  fee 
of  $100  for  each  of  the  following  years.  This 
provision  shall  apply  to  locations  for  which  en- 
tries have  already  been  granted. 

*'After  the  recording  of  a  claim  the  removal  of 
any  post  by  the  holder  thereof  or  by  any  person 
acting  in  his  behalf  for  the  purpose  of  changing 
the  boundaries  of  his  claim  shall  act  as  a  forfei- 
ture of  the  claim.  The  entry  of  every  holder  of 
a  grant  for  placer  mining  must  be  renewed  and 
his  receipt  relinquished  and  replaced  every  year, 
the  entry  fee  being  paid  each  time.  No  miner 
shall  receive  a  grant  of  more  than  one  mining 
claim  in  the  same  locality,  but  the  same  miner 
may  hold  any  number  of  claims  by  purchase,  and 
any  number  of  miners  may  unite  to  work  their 
claims  in  common  upon  such  terms  as  they  may 
arrange,  provided  such  agreement  be  registered 
with  the  Gold  Commissioner  and  a  fee  of  $5  be 
paid  'or  each  registration. 

"Any  miner  or  miners  may  sell  mortgage  or  dis- 
pose of  his  or  their  claims,  provided  such  dis- 
posal be  registered  with,  and  a  fee  of  $2  be  paid 
to  the  Gold  Commissioner,  who  shall  thereupon 
give  the  assignee  a  certificate  in  form  "J"  in  the 
schedule  hereto. 

"Every  miner  shall,  during  the  continuance  of 
his  grant,  have  the  exclusive  right  of  entry  upon 
his  own  claim,  for  the  minerlike  working  thereof, 


f 


1;  ■■ 


29S 


Itlondike. 


Ijf  i  (i 


and  the  construction  of  a  residence  thereon,  and 
shall  be  entitled  exclusively  to  all  the  proceeds 
realized  therefrom;  but  he  shall  have  no  surface 
rights  therein;  and  the  Gold  Commissi'^ner  may 
grant  to  the  holders  of  adjacent  claims  such 
right  of  entry  thereon  as  may  be  absolutely  nec- 
essary for  the  working  of  their  claim,  upon  such 
terms  as  may  to  him  seem  reasonable.  He  may 
also  grant  permits  to  miners  to  cut  timber 
thereon  for  their  own  use,  upon  payment  of  the 
due  prescribed  by  the  regulation  in  that  behalf. 
Every  miner  shall  be  entitled  to  the  use  of  so 
much  of  the  water  naturally  flowing  through  or 
past  his  claim,  and  not  already  lawfully  appro- 
priated, as  shall,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Gold  Com- 
missioner, be  necessary  to  the  due  working 
thereof;  and  shall  be  entitled  to  drain  his  own 
claim  free  of  charge. 

"A  claim  shall  be  deemed  to  be  abandoned  and 
open  to  occupation  and  entry  by  any  person 
when  the  same  shall  have  remained  unworked  on 
working  days  by  the  grantee  thereof  or  by  some 
person  in  his  behalf  for  the  space  of  seventy-two 
hours,  unless  sickness  or  other  reasonable  cause 
shown  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Gold  Commis- 
sioner, or  unless  the  grantee  is  absent  on  leave 
given  by  the  Commissioner,  and  the  gold  com- 
missioner upon  obtaining  evidence  satisfactory 
to  himself  that  this  provision  is  not  being  com- 
plied with  may  cancel  the  entry  given  for  a  claim. 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         299 

**If  the  land  upon  which  a  claim  has  been 
located  is  not  the  property  of  the  Crown  it  will 
be  necessary  for  the  person  who  applied  for  entry 
to  furnish  proof  that  he  has  acquired  from  the 
owner  of  the  land  the  surface  rights  before  entry 
can  be  granted.  If  the  occupier  of  the  lands 
has  not  received  a  patent  therefor,  the  purchase 
money  of  the  surface  rights  must  be  paid  to  the 
Crown,  and  a  patent  of  the  surface  rights  will 
issue  to  the  party  who  acquired  the  mining 
rights.  The  money  so  collected  will  either  be 
refunded  to  the  occupier  of  the  land,  when  he 
is  entitled  to  a  patent  therefor,  or  will  be  cred- 
ited to  him  on  account  of  payment  for  land. 

"When  the  party  obtaining  the  mining  rights 
to  lands  cannot  make  an  arrangement  with  the 
owner  or  his  agent  or  the  occupant  thereof  for 
the  acquisition  of  the  surface  rights,  it  shall  be 
lawful  for  him  to  give  notice  to  the  owner  or  his 
agent  or  the  occupier  to  appoint  an  arbitrator  to 
act  with  another  arbitrator  named  by  him,  in 
order  to  award  the  amount  of  compensation  to 
which  the  owner  or  occupant  shall  be  entitled. 
The  notice  mentioned  in  this  section  shall  be 
according  to  a  form  to  be  obtained  upon  applica- 
tion from  the  Gold  Commissioner  for  the  district 
in  which  the  lands  in  question  lie,  and  shall, 
when  practicable,  be  personally  served  upon 
such  owner  or  his  agent  when  known^  or  occu- 


^  m 


300 


Klondike. 


ij 


s , 


I-    ! 


li 


iiii: 


pant;  and  after  reasonable  eiforts  have  been 
made  to  effect  personal  service  without  success, 
then  such  notice  shall  be  served  by  leaving  it  at 
or  sending  it  by  registered  letter  to  the  last  place 
of  abode  of  the  owner,  agent  or  occupant. 

**The  award  of  any  two  arbitrators  made  in 
writing  shall  be  final  and  shall  be  filed  with  the 
Gold  Commissioner  for  the  district  in  which  the 
lands  lie. 

''Every  claim  on  the  face  of  any  hill  and  front- 
ing on  any  natural  stream  or  ravine  shall  have  a 
frontage  of  100  feet  drawn  parallel  to  the  main 
direction  thereof,  and  shall  be  laid  out  as  nearly 
as  possible  in  the  manner  heretofore  provided. 

**A  new  stream  of  a.iriferous  earth  or  gravel, 
situated  in  a  locality  where  the  claims  are  aban- 
doned, shall,  for  this  purpose,  be  deemed  a  new 
mine,  although  the  same  locality  shall  have  been 
previously  worked  at  a  different  level;  and  dry 
diggings  discovered  in  the  vicinity  of  bar  dig- 
gings shall  be  deemed  a  new  mine  and  vice  versd. 
Tunnels  and  shafts  shall  be  considered  as  belong- 
ing to  the  claim  for  the  use  of  which  they  are 
constructed,  and  as  abandoned  or  foreited  by  the 
abandonment  or  forfeiture  of  the  claim  itself. 

"No  person  shall  be  entitled  tot  he  grant  of  any 
water  of  any  stream  for  the  purpose  of  selling 
the  water  to  present  or  future  claim-holders  on 
any  part  of  such  stream.    The  Minister  of  the 


A  Mdnualfor  Gold  Seekers.         30i 

Interior  may,  however,  grant  such  privileges  as 
he  may  deem  just,  when  such  ditch  is  intended 
to  work  bench  or  hill  claims  fronting  on  any 
such  stream,  provided  that  the  rights  of  miners 
then  using  the  water  so  applied  for  be  protected. 

"The  agent  in  each  district  shall,  under  instruc- 
tions from  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  declare 
the  close  season  in  his  district. 

"Each  holder  of  a  mining  location  or  of  a  grant 
for  placei"  mining  shall  be  entitled  to  be  absent 
from  his  mining  location  or  diggings  and  to  sus- 
pend work  thereon  during  the  close  season.  Any 
miner  or  miners  shall  be  entitled  to  leave  of 
absence  for  one  year  from  his  or  their  diggings 
upon  proving  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  superin- 
tendent of  mines  that  he  or  they  have  expended 
on  such  diggings  in  cash,  labor  or  machinery  an 
amount  of  not  less  than  $200  on  each  of  such 
diggings  without  any  return  of  gold  or  other 
minerals  in  reasonable  quantities  for  Buoh  ex- 
penditure. 

**In  the  event  of  any  breach  of  any  of  the  above 
regulations  by  any  person  holding  a  grant  for 
placer  mining  from  the  Crown,  the  Minister  of 
the  Interior,  or  from  any  duly  authorized  oflBcer 
of  Dominion  lands,  such  right  or  grant  shall  be 
absolutely  forfeited  and  the  person  so  offending 
shall  be  incapable  thereafter  of  acquiring  any 
such  right  or  grant  unless  for  special  cause  it  is 
otherwise  decided  by  the  Minister  of  the  Interior. 


11  :|^ 


l[  *  ■ 


i"  f  I 


hi!  -  f 


ii; 


iiii 


I 


!  i  n  ■• 


I 


J!        i 


I       *■ 


j 

1! 

■ 

1  i  . 

1  : 

302  Klondike. 

FORM  OF  PLACER  APPLICATION. 

The  following  is  the  form  of  application  for  a 
grant  for  placer  mining  and  the  affidavit  of  the 
applicant: 


I  (or  we) 


of 


hereby  apply,  under 


the  Dominion  mining  regulations,  for  a  grant  of 
a  claim  for  placer  mining  as  defined  in  said  regu- 
lations, in (here  describe  locality) ,  and 

I  (or  we)  solemnly  swear: 

1.  That  I  (or  we)  have  discovered  therein  a 
deposit  of (here  name  the  metal  or  mineral). 

2.  That  I  (or  we)  am  (or  are)  to  the  best  of 
my  (or  our)  knowledge  and  belief  the  first  dis- 
coverer (or  discoverers)  of  said  deposit;  or, 

3.  That  the  said  claim  was  previously  granted 
to  (here  name  the  last  grantee),  but  has  re- 
mained unworked  by  the  said  grantee  for  not 
less  than . 

4.  That  I  (or  we)  am  (or  are)  unaware  that 
the  land  is  otner  than  vacant  Dominion  land. 

6.  That  I  (or  we)  did,  on  the day  of 

mark  out  on  the  ground  in  accordance  in  every 
particular  with  the  provisions  of  sub-clause  (e) 
of  clause  eighteen  of  the  said  mining  regulations, 
the  claim  for  which  I  (or  we)  make  this  applica- 
tion, and  that  in  so  doin^  I  (or  we)  did  not  en- 
croach on  anv  other  claim  or  mining  location 
previously  lai^  out  by  any  other  person. 

6.  That  the  said  claim  contains,  as  nearly  as  I 
(or  we)  could  measure  or  estimate,  an  area  of 

square  feet,  and  that  the  description  (and 

sketch  if  any)  of  this    date  hereto  attached^ 


ition  for  a 
ivit  of  the 


)ly,  under 
» grant  of 
Jaid  regu- 
,  and 

therein  a 
mineral), 
le  best  of 

first  dis- 

or, 

granted 

has  re- 

'  for  not 

are  that 
land. 

rof 

in  every 
ause  (e) 
Illations, 
applica- 
not  en- 
location 

irly  as  I 
area  of 
on  (and 
itached. 


A  Mamialfor  Gold  Seekers.         303 

t?rhe^^oi'"nt-^''  r^  ^^^\  ^^  «^^)  ^«^^^  "^  detail 
to  the  best  oi  my  (or  our)  knowledge  aud  ability 
Its  position,  form  and  dimensions.  ^' 

crnL  V'^i  }  ^""^  ^^^   "^^"^^  *his  application   in 

n  nr  h^''""^^i^  be  prosecuted  by  myself  (or 
us)  or  by  myself  and  associates,  or  by  mv  for 
our)  assigns.  Sworn  before  me  -1-  at  _^tLk 
day  of 18—.  ^^^^ 

Form  I-Grant  for  placer  mining. ^^'^"'*"''^- 


I 


304 


Klondike. 


'I' 


\\\  I  ' 


■     k 


'M' 


m 


I      ! 


II 


•  !i 


CUSTOMS  REGULATIONS. 

It  is  understood  that  the  Dominion  Govern- 
ment will  not  collect  duties  on  personal  outfits, 
but  merely  on  articles  imported  for  commercial 
purposes,  and  on  machinery,  etc.  The  power 
exists,  however,  to  levy  duty  as  per  following 
schedule: 

Shovels  and  spades,  picks,  etc.,  25  percent.; 
horses,  20  per  cent.;  axes,  hatchets  and  adzes, 
25  per  cent.;  baking  powder,  6  cents  per  pound; 
bed  comforters,  32|  per  cent.;  blankets,  5 
cents  per  pound  and  25  per  cent.;  boats'  and 
ships'  sails,  25  per  cent. ;  rubber  boots,  25  per 
cent. ;  boots  and  shoes,  25  per  cent. ;  breadstuffs, 
viz.,  grain,  flour,  and  meal  of  all  kinds,  20  per 
cent.;  butter,  4  cents  per  pound;  candles,  28  per 
cent.;  cartridges  and  ammunition,  30  per  cent.; 
cheese,  3  cents  per  pound;  cigars  and  cigarettes, 
$2  per  pound  and  26  per  cent. ;  clothing — socks, 
10  cents  per  dozen  pairs  and  35  per  cent. ;  knitted 
goods  of  every  description,  35  per  cent.;  ready- 
made,  partially  of  wool,  30  per  cent. ;  waterproof 
clothing,  35  per  cent. ;  coflEee,  condensed,  30  per 


A  3fanual  for  Gold  Seekers.         305 

cent.;  roasted,  2  cents  per  pound  and  10  per 
cent.;  substitutes,  2  cents  per  pound;  extracts,  3 
cents  per  pound;  condensed  milk,  3  cents  per 
pound;  cotton  knitted  goods,  35  percent.;  crow- 
bars, 35  per  cent.;  cutlery,  35  per  cent.;  dogs,  20 
per  cent. ;  drugs,  20  per  cent. ;  duck,  from  20  to  30 
per  cent.;  earthenware,  30  per  cent.;  edge  tools, 
35  per  cent.;  firearms,  20  per  cent.;  fishhooks  and 
lines,  25  per  cent.;  flour,  wheat,  75  cents  per 
barrel;  rye,  50  cents  per  barrel;  fruits,  dried,  25 
percent.;  fruits,  prunes,  raisins,  currants,  1  cent 
per  pound;  fruits,  jellies,  jams,  preserves,  3  cents 
per  pound;  fur  caps,  muffs,  capes,  coats,  25  per 
cent.;  furniture,  25  per  cent.;  galvanized  iron 
or  tinware  30  per  cent.;  guns,  20  per  cent.; 
hardware;,  23^  per  cent. ;  harness  and  saddlery, 
30  per  cent. ;  jerseys,  knitted,  35  per  cent. ;  lard, 
2  cents  per  pound;  linen  clothing,  32^;  maps 
and  charts,  20  per  cent. ;  meats,  canned,  25  per 
cent.;  in  barrel,  2  cents  per  pound;  oatmeal,  20 
per  cent. ;  oiled  cloth,  30  per  cent. ;  pipes,  35  per 
cent. ;  pork,  in  barrel,  2  cents  a  pound, ;  potatoes, 
15  cents  a  bushel;  potted  meats,  25  per  cent.; 
powder,  mining  and  blasting,  2  cents  a  pound; 
rice,  1\  cents  a  pound;  sacks  or  bags,  20  per 
cent.;  sawmills,  portable,  30  per  cent.;  sugar, 
■^^  cents  a  pound;  surgical  instruments,  15 
per  cent.;  tobacco,  42  cents  per  pound  and 
12^  per  cent. 


•r 


ill 


306 


Klondike, 


DISEASES  OF  THE  COUNTRY. 


I!! 


ti'  * ' 


Before  it  became  easy  to  get  proper  food, 
scurvy  was  very  prevalent,  on  the  Yukon,  and 
at  every  cabin  could  be  seen  a  cotton  wood 
pole  partly  stripped  of  its  bark.  The  green 
outer  bark  was  scraped  off  and  the  inner  bark 
was  steeped  to  make  a  tea  which  was  drunk  as  a 
cure  for  the  disease.  It  is  very  bitter  and  un- 
palatable. Scurvy  is  not  now  so  common  as 
formerly. 

Scurvy,  which  results  from  an  exclusive  dietary 
of  cereals  and  preserved  meat,  is  really  a  condi- 
tion of  acid-intoxication,  in  the  opinion  of  Dr. 
E.  A.  Wright,  an  English  pathologist.  Fresh 
vegetables  and  lime-juice  are  used  as  remedies, 
but  both  of  them  act  slowly,  and  alkaline  salts 
— such  as  ca.'bonate  of  soda,  carbonate  of  potash 
and  a  variety  of  others — are  shown  to  be  much 
better. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  a  diet  consisting  largely 
of  fat  and  fresh  meat  will  keep  off  the  scurvy. 
J^  either  Napsen  nor  Peary  have  suffered  from 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         307 

it,  by  followmg  this  course,  whereas  well-found 
government  exp'^ditions  have  suffered  terribly 
therefrom,  through  the  food  being  largely  of 
canned  meats  and  cereals.  Salt  beef  and  pork 
are  especially  dangerous.  Mr.  Bruce,  formerly 
of  the  firm  of  Bruce,  Bowne  &  Co.,  is  going  to 
Klondike,  and  his  experience  in  fitting  out  whal- 
ers for  the  Arctic  will  stand  him  in  good  stead 
for  his  intended  trip.  One  articl'i  that  his  party 
will  take  along  will  be  lime-juice.  The  majority 
of  the  prospectors  have  overlooked  this  impor- 
tant article  and  other  anti-scorbutics.  According 
to  Mr.  Bruce  there  is  every  need  of  lime-juice 
and  vegetables  in  the  northern  latitudes  as 
preventatives  against  scurvy. 

Whatever  you  do,  don't  neglect  to  take  along 
a  bottle  of  lime-juice  as  a  safeguard  against 
a  disease  which  without  some  such  precaution  is 
very  apt  to  manifest  its  presence  after  a  few 
months  of  exposure,  and  rough  or  limited  diet, 
without  an  adequate  supply  of  fresh  vegetables 
and  fruit.  And  there  w"'  ^e  mighty  little  of 
either  on  the  Klondike  this  winter. 

According  to  the  accepted  medical  authority, 
scurvy  is  the  result  of  an  insufficient  supply  of 
potash  salts,  owing  to  an  inadequate  diet  of 
fresh  vegetables.  But  the  mere  administration 
of  these  salts  will  not  prevent  or  cure  the  dis- 
ease, which  is  a  dreadful  one,  if  not  checked. 


•'  I' 


m 


;'    I  i 
'I    "'  ', 


III 


|i:  I 


3 


u    < 


<    I 


i  I 


308 


Klondike. 


The  symptoms  como  on  gradually,  being  recog- 
nized by  a  failure  of  strength  and  exhaustion  at 
slight  exertion.  The  countenance  becomes 
sallow  or  dusky,  eyes  sunken,  and  constant  pains 
are  felt  in  all  the  muscles.  After  some  weeks 
utter  prostration  ensues;  the  appearance  is  most 
haggard;  great  trouble  is  experienced  with  the 
mouth,  sore  gums  and  teeth  falling  out;  the 
breath  is  extremely  offensive;  finally  swellings 
and  dark  spots  on  the  body,  with  bleeding  from 
the  mucous  membrane;  then  painful,  extensive 
and  destructive  ulcers  break  out  on  the  limbs, 
finally  diarrhoea, pulmonary  or  kidney  trouble  may 
give  fatal  result.  But  even  in  desperate  cases  a  re- 
turn to  fresh  vegetable  diet  will  cure,  as  will 
also,  usually,  lime-juice.  Lime-juice  has  driven 
scurvy  from  the  ocean,  where  it  once  counted  its 
dead  in  every  far-going  ship's  annals.  It  is  now 
a  slang  term  to  describe  an  old  salt.  Sailors  at 
sea  are  gr'**n  a  small  daily  allowance  of  lime-juice 
and  they  3w  it  with  a  little  water  at  meals. 

Pd  a  is  the  scourge  of  the  country,  and 

if  a  er  is  unfortunate  enough  to  be  taken 

dowi«  .^ith  this  disease  he  might  as  well  chnnt 
his  death  song,  for  his  bones  will  bleach  in  the 
country  of  everlasting  snows.  Consequently  it 
behooves  every  person  contemplating  the  trip  to 
prepare  for  the  climatic  rigors  of  the  country. 

A  careless  method  of  living  is  quite  common 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers.         309 

among  beginners,  and  soon  leads  to  debility 
and  sometimes  to  scurvy.  Old  miners  have 
learned  from  experience  to  value  health  more 
than  gold,  and  they  therefore  spare  no  expense 
in  procuring  the  best  and  most  varied  outfit  of 
food  that  can  be  obtained. 

In  a  cold,  trying  climate,  where  it  is  im- 
possible to  get  fresh  vegetables  and  fruits,  it  is 
most  important  that  the  best  substitutes  for 
these  should  be  provided.  Nature  helps  to  sup- 
ply these  wants  by  e;rowing  cranberries  and  other 
wild  fruits  in  abundance,  but  men  in  summer 
are  usually  too  busy  to  avail  themselves  of  these. 

The  diseases  met  with  on  the  Youkon  are 
dyspepsia,  anaemia,  scurvy  caused  by  improperly 
cooked  food,  sameness  of  diet,  overwork,  want  of 
fresh  vegetables,  overheated  and  badly  ventilated 
houses;  rheumatism,  pneumonia,  bronchitis, 
enteritis,  cystitis  and  oth.3r  acute  diseases,  from 
exposure  to  wet  and  cold;  debilit;;  and  chronic 
disease,  due  to  excesses.  Venereal  diseases  are 
not  uncommon.  One  case  of  typhoid  fever 
occurred  in  Forty-Mile  last  fall,  probably  due  to 
drinking  water  polluted  with  decayed  vegetable 
matter. 

**In  selecting  men  to  relieve  in  this  country," 
says  Surgeon  Willis,  Northwest  Mounted  Police, 
*'I  beg  to  submit  a  few  remarks,  some  of  which 
will  be  of  assistance  to  the  medical  examiners  in 
making  their  recommendations. 


■'tJi 

:|         111 


•<■  (  ' 


«.    Ij. 


I'h    i 


I 


hi*! 


:'m 


ivi 


310 


Klondike. 


*'Men  should  be  sober,  strong,  and  healthy. 
They  should  be  practical  men,  able  to  adapt 
themselves  quickly  to  their  surroundings. 
Special  care  should  be  taken  to  see  that  their 
lungs  are  sound,  that  they  are  free  from  rheuma- 
tism and  rheumatic  tendency,  and  that  their 
joints,  especially  knee  joints,  are  strong  and  hav3 
never  been  weakened  by  injury,  synovitis  or 
other  disease.  It  is  also  very  important  to  con- 
sider their  ten.peraments.  Men  should  be  of 
cheerful,  hopeful  dispositions  and  willing  work- 
ers. Those  of  sullen,  morose  natures,  although 
they  may  be  good  workers,  are  very  apt,  as  soon 
as  the  novelty  of  the  country  wears  off,  to  be- 
come dissatisfied,  pessimistic  and  melancholy.'' 


Il 


i-h'    I 


■  « 


H 


i         111 


A  Momual  for  Gold  Seekers,         311 


MISCELLANEOUS. 

The  timber  of  the  country  is  small  compared 
with  that  found  in  British  Columbia,  but  some 
of  the  white  spruce  trees  are  two  feet  in  diameter. 
The  trees  composing  Yukon  forests  are  white 
and  black  spruce,  larch,  birch,  cottonwood  and 
black  pine. 

A  very  stout  canvas  canoe  might  be  useful; 
only  the  cover  need  be  taken. 

There  is  loose  ice  in  the  Yukon  by  September 
20,  generally,  and  the  river  freezes  over  about  the 
middle  of  October.  Some  seasons  it  remains 
open  until  November.  The  lakes  on  the  Lewis 
branch  are  often  frozen  until  June  10. 

The  fish  found  in  the  lakes  and  streams  are 
the  salmon,  lake  trout,  grayling,  pike  and 
sucker. 

A  small  party  camped  on  any  of  the  larger 
lakes  would  run  little  risk  of  starvation  if  pro- 
vided with  a  couple  of  good  gill  nets,  and  able 
to  devote  the  time  to  use  them  in  the  late 
autumn. 


WW'^ 


l!!i:!i;i^i| 


il      M'' 


it  '■ 


i'li  r!  i:i'h^! 


i!  'Il!'!i!l 


u  *  ^ 


i,  J 


1 1'  i  i 
si; 

;l     i   ^ 


1^ 


III    :' 

If  V- 


!-  •  ■ 

I':  i-l 

II 


;! 


-iiliii;  i!M  H 


312 


Klondike. 


One  of  the  essentials  of  the  overland  trip  is  a 
Yukon  sleigh  built  of  hard  wood,  shod  with 
rough  steel  runners.  The  sleigh  is  7  feet  3 
inches  long,  but  only  16  inches  wide,  so  built  as 
to  be  able  to  track  the  snowshoes.  The  cost  is 
about  17. 

Compressed  and  dessicated  foods  will  undoubt- 
edly be  of  enormous  service  to  prospectors  in  the 
Yukon  district.  For  instance,  3  pounds  of  com- 
pressed tea;  15  pounds  of  dessicated  soup;  25 
pounds  of  evaporated  potatoes;  10  pounds  of 
dried  apples;  4  bottles  of  best  lime-juice,  would 
undoubtedly  be  sufficient  of  such  articles  for  one 
man,  during  a  long  Yukon  winter,  provided  he 
had  a  certain  amount  of  the  usual  coarse  foods 
to  supply  the  required  bulk. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  the  Arctic  ex- 
plorer Nansen  gained  22  pounds  in  weight  and 
kept  in  magnificent  physical  condition  all  through 
a  long  Arctic  winter  on  a  diet  of  fat  bear's  meat, 
without  vegetables  or  other  luxuries. 

The  Esquimo  kayayk  is  12  feet  long,  4S 
inches  wide,  and  15  inches  deep.  The  frame 
weighs  16  pounds,  fch  canvac  or  skin  cover  14 
pounds.  If  the  canvas  be  used  it  will  require  6 
pounds  of  paint  to  make  it  water-tight,  or  better 
still  a  mixture  of  paraffin  and  tallow  may  replace 
the  paint.  , 


and  trip  is  a 
,  shod  with 
is  7  feet  3 
,  so  built  as 
The  cost  is 

ill  undoubt- 
ctors  in  the 
nds  of  com- 
5d  soup;  25 
pounds  of 
aice,  would 
3les  for  one 
provided  he 
oarse  foods 


A  Manual  for  Gold  Seekers. 

Gold  is  valued  as  follows: 

1  oz.  Troy  pure  gold  is  worth * 

Idwt.  Troy ....! 

1  grain  Troy 

1  oz.  Avoirdupois '..'..', 

1  lb.  Avoirdupois 

1  ton  (2.000  lbs.) ..'.***.'.*.*.'.'..'.**.**.*'.     602, 


313 


20.67 

1.08 

0.04J 

18.84 

801.37 

787.20 


Arctic  ex- 
(veight  and 
ill  through 
ar's  meat, 

;  long,  ^8 
["he  frame 
1  cover  14 
require  6 
or  better 
ay  replace 


THE  EITD. 


Hi 


mi 


rh  H 


Irlri! 


;!! 


Mil     r 


li  !i! 


'!     i 


it 

i 

r 

1; 

i 

.v. 

I  n 

that 


f^fuo,  doth,  $1.2$ 

THE   MASSARENES 

By  OUIDA 

AUTBOB,  OF 
•  UNDBR  TWO  FI,AGS,"   "  WANDA,"  BTC. 

"The  finish  of  the  story  is  as  artistic  as  is 
of  'Vanity  Fair'  "— jV.  Ys Journal. 

•'  Ouidain  her  old  age  has  written  her  best  book." 
— Evening  Sun. 

"  It  is  the  strongest  she  has  written  with  thepos- 
sible  exception  of  •Under  Two  Flags. ' ' ' — N.  Y.  Press 

"  Ouida  beats  them  all;  her  latest  story  is  mor.^ 
wicked  than  those  of  the  modem  sensationalist, 
and  better  told. — Chicago  Journal. 

"  In  some  respects  the  ablest  of  all  her  books . " — 
N.  Y.  Herald. 

•'There  is  not  a  dull  page  in  the  novel. " — Boston 
Gazette. 
"  Ouida's  stories  are  never  dull,  and  this  one  is 

3uite  as  lively  as  any  of  the  others." — Army  and 
7avy  Register. 

"  She  has  not  lost  any  of  her  cynioism  nor  any  of 
her  skill  to  weave  a  seductive  plot." — Boston  Globe. 

"There  is  a  distinct  moral  purpose  running  all 
through  the  book,  a  purpose  which  it  will  be  im- 
possible for  the  most  careless  reader  to  overlook. " 
— 7%e  Beacon,  Boston. 

"A  clever  story  of  English  high  life  as  it  is  re- 
presented to-day." — The  Bookseller. 

"  A  decided  story- interest  and  some  clever  char- 
acter drawing." — The  Outlook. 

"  Katherine  Massarene  is  drawn  with  a  skill  that 
makes  her  one  of  the  best  female  characters  that 
'  Ouida*  h-'s  given  us. " — Public  Opinion. 

Nbw  v^ork:  R.  F.  FENNO  &  COMPANY 


NES 


,"vtc 


■icaa  is  that 
best  book." 
i'iththepos- 

ory  is  taox^ 
isationalist, 

books."— 

''—Boston 

this  one  is 
Army  and 

nor  any  of 
ton  Globe. 
inning  all 
^11  be  im- 
irerlook." 

s  it  is  re- 
ver  char- 
skill  that 
ters  that 

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